Breaking News
by kmd0107
Summary: Florist AU sequel. Logan and Veronica are back and they've got a whole new set of problems. Veronica's first big story is about to break and Logan is trying to abide by all the rules so he can finally have Aaron out of his life for good. A lot of familiar faces will be along for the ride!
1. Chapter 1

**This is the sequel to Breaking the Rules. I recommend reading it first or you may find yourself confused**

* * *

Veronica hurried down the street while balancing several bags of takeout. She hoped that her rushed lunch break would allow her time to do more than stuff her face and run. But, even if she didn't get to do much more than that, it would be worth it. She and Logan had taken to eating lunch together at least twice a week. Despite the fact that she spent almost every night at his place, they still liked the normalcy of something as simple as lunch dates.

She pushed her way through the door and found the shop empty. "Logan?" She called several times until Heather popped her head out of the back.

"He's back here working on the Montez centerpieces." Heather called out to Veronica.

Veronica tossed the bags down on the same table where she had first watched surveillance footage of her creepy ex and agreed to dinner with Logan. She made her way to the back, knowing he probably had headphones in and she could just watch him for a few minutes. Even though the events that first brought her here still gave her nightmares, she was grateful that they brought Logan into her life.

His was face scrunched up in thought, his elegant fingers adjusting stems and blooms until they were just right. It was like watching a sculptor. He was beautiful in his element, whether it was here making living art, typing away at his laptop, or making love to her. He must have felt her presence because a warm sexy smile graced his face as he looked up at her, making her heart race.

He popped his headphones out, "Hey, Beautiful. Is it already time for lunch?"

"It is. I brought enough for Heather, too. She seemed liked she needed some 'Logan' time." Veronica had been apprehensive when first meeting Heather, but it turned out that Heather was vivacious while still maintaining just the right amount of cynicism to appeal to Veronica. "I take it that she and, um—Brad?—broke up?"

"I think it was Chad, actually, but yes they broke up. Turns out he lived up to his name's rating; number one douchebag name according to some highly reputable website…" Logan smirked at Veronica.

"What did he do?" Veronica asked conspiratorially.

"She found him doing a line of coke in a bathroom at a party." Logan frowned and looked troubled.

"Oh. I'm not sure if that's better or worse than what I'd expected." Veronica stared at her hands.

"She's a smart girl; kicked him to the curb."

"You think I'm smart? Thanks Logan." Heather's sweet voice preceded her appearance in the doorway, holding the bags of take out Veronica had brought.

"Anytime. Veronica brought enough for us to all have lunch. Can you stay, or do you need to get back to your busy life?"

Heather smiled and set the bags on an empty table. "I always have time for you, old man."

"Sorry Chad was a dipshit, Heather." Veronica grabbed a plate and began dishing out the moo goo guy pan from its containers.

Heather nodded, "Well, I guess it's better that I find out now, right? Not six months down the road, or six _years_ down the road."

"Amen to that, sister." Veronica agreed, handing the plate to Logan.

"And the sad truth is that I've dated worse." Heather continued, grimacing.

"Me too!" Logan brought himself into their conversation as he took a huge bite of an eggroll.

"Don't even get me started." Veronica groaned and they all laughed.

"Okay, Veronica. You win the 'worst ex' competition by a landslide. Now I can stop feeling sorry for myself," Heather relented. "But look at the two of you now. It would be sickening for me to watch if you guys weren't so damn cute together."

Veronica's cynical side wanted to protest, but she couldn't. "We _are_ pretty cute," she acquiesced, stealing the next bite of Logan's eggroll and smiling mischievously up at him. He bent over to kiss her, but they were interrupted by Heather's voice.

"Okay, I take it back, your happiness is nauseating. I'm going to take my food up front. Thanks for lunch, Veronica," she said as she escaped into the shop.

"Anytime," Veronica called out just before Logan's lips met hers.

* * *

Logan closed up the shop and found himself back at his place by 6:30 p.m. He walked to his bedroom to change into his workout clothes, hoping to get in some time with his weights before Veronica made it over for dinner. The master bedroom had a large walk-in closet with multiple vanities and a comfortable chaise lounge. Logan hadn't picked any of it out; he'd hired a decorator to handle most of the furniture. But he had to say that he was a big fan of the chaise, especially the mornings after Veronica stayed the night. They'd both been late to work more than once thanks to that magnificent piece of closet furniture.

He looked around the space. In the weeks that he and Veronica had been together, every few days he'd noticed a few more of her things in the closet. Logan knew that it wasn't Veronica's attempt to stake her claim; it was his housekeeper's doing. She would do laundry and put Veronica's things away in the closet. Logan ran his hand over the hanging clothes and peeked into a few drawers to find that they were filling up too. He smiled to himself. It was a rare night that she didn't stay, and when she didn't it was usually because she had a late meeting or was writing. Though lately he _had_ convinced her to share his office with him when she had a late night before a deadline.

He'd watched her write more than a few times, now. She'd come sit in his lap while he puttered on his laptop. Usually she made him give up the desk and chair, but sometimes she'd let him hold her and he could watch as she worked through how to phrase a source's emotional state or do research on one of any number of strange things. The more he watched her, the more inspired his own writing felt, but he rarely wrote when she was over. He hadn't told her about her alter ego that was his new novel's protagonist. He knew that he would have to tell her soon; it would be all kinds of creepy to use your girlfriend as your muse and not bother to let her know.

He heard the beeping of the security alarm and then the confirmation of the code having been put in. He decided that he would put off telling her about Vivian for now but, as for the state of their living arrangement, he didn't want to wait any longer.

"Bobcat!" he called after he heard the door shut.

"Yes, Muffin?" Veronica's voice answered from the living room.

Logan waited until she came into the bedroom. "What's the status on your lease?"

"Um…it's month to month? Why"

"Move in."

"What?"

"Move in. Pack up all your stuff and move in."

"I don't…"

"No, I'm serious. You spend all your time here anyway. I already ordered you a desk for the office."

Her jaw dropped. "You did?"

"As much as I like you working from my lap…"

"But…my furniture?"

"What about it? Whatever you love we'll find a place for. The rest can go to Goodwill."

"And my pictures?"

He stood and pulled her around directing her attention to where he envisioned each of his favorite photographs being hung.

"You've been thinking about this." She said, her hands on her hips.

"Well, yeah. I mean…you really are here all the time. And when you aren't I miss you. I want you to be here. Do _you_ want to be here?" Logan asked, feeling as though his heart was hanging on his sleeve in plain sight for all— _Logan Echolls loves Veronica Mars!_

"I—wow, Logan. Yeah, I want to be here too. This feels like home. I can't really explain it." She smiled sheepishly at him.

"I can. Here I thought you were the one with the well-developed investigative and deductive skills." He smirked at her confused expression.

"Then please, explain away."

"You're in love with me." He said it matter-of-factly and smiled at her.

"I know." Veronica replied, a smirk of her own planted firmly on her face.

"What is this? Some reverse version of the Hans Solo-Princess Leia speech?"

"I don't know. I guess that depends." Veronica replied stepping closer to him.

"On what?" Logan asked.

"On what you know." Veronica wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss that left Logan breathless and aroused.

"I know a lot of things…did you have a particular piece of knowledge in mind?" Logan gazed down at her. Veronica's eyes were wide and sparkling. They had been dancing around this for at least the last few weeks, but he'd been terrified of scaring her off. _That cat is completely out of the bag. You just asked her to move in with you and she didn't run away. Telling her how you feel isn't going change things_ , he told himself, preparing for what, he hoped, would be a positive reaction.

He took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I'm in love with you. I want you to move in with me. I don't want to wake up without you anymore." He kissed her softly at first, and then he deepened the kiss when she responded. Lifting her up into his arms, he walked them to the bed and set her down, pulling away from the kiss but not their embrace.

"Are you in love with me Veronica? Will you move in with me?" He whispered against her lips.

"I am and I would love nothing more."

Logan leaned in and kissed Veronica again. Leisurely, he tasted her and caressed her, moving his hands up and down her sides as her legs wrapped around his waist. Logan pressed firmly against her, enjoying the friction their bodies created against each other.

He lifted Veronica up and moved her to the center of the bed. _Our bed_ , he thought, grinding against her again. He ended up kneeling between her legs; slowly he unbuttoned her dress shirt, alternately placing kisses and nips as he worked his way down. Each and every moan and shudder of her body spurred him on.

She was wearing a red lace bra that contrasted nicely with her skin and made her look delicious. A growl slipped out of his throat as she arched up into the kiss he placed between her breasts; her fingers combing through his hair. Logan released the front closure of her bra then went to work on the skirt that was bunched around Veronica's mid thigh.

"You're wearing…too many…clothes." Veronica moaned as he took one of her perfect pink nipples into his mouth. Her fingers gathered the top of his shirt and worked it up his torso; finally he had to release her pebbled nipple to let her pull the shirt over his head. The feel of her hot bare thighs against his sides had Logan feeling feral, but he wanted to take this slow. He was determined to take it slow. He sucked in a sharp breath as she squeezed him closer to her. With what little brainpower he had left, he pulled the side zipper of her skirt and shimmied it down her hips and legs, leaving kisses across every new piece of skin that was exposed.

After kissing his way down her legs, Logan leaned back and admired the sight of Veronica in just a red lace thong that matched the bra that hung open by her sides. Without breaking eye contact, he hooked his fingers in the sides of the thong and slipped it down the same way he had her skirt. Veronica was panting loudly and gripping the comforter; he could tell she was trying not to writhe but it was a battle she was losing one kiss at a time. He reached her feet, tossed the lace aside, grabbed her feet, and placed them on the bed. He then spread her wide, exposing her completely to him.

Logan couldn't hold in his groan of appreciation as he gazed at her spread out before him, panting, flushed, and unbelievably beautiful. He worked his way back up her legs and, without pause, lapped at her, wanting to drown in her scent and taste. He took her in until she thrust against his mouth and loudly called out his name. He sucked until Veronica begged him to stop then he climbed back up her body so he was kneeling between her legs again and surged into her. He held her tightly to him and drew her limp form up into his lap and against his chest. Logan kissed her gently, sliding his lips lazily against hers while keeping her hips fitted to his, loving feeling the aftershocks of her orgasm massage his cock.

Logan held Veronica to him, kissing her softly until he felt her take back control; when she deliberately rotated her hips against him to let him know she had recovered enough, he gave a short thrust. Veronica gasped and threw her head back, which was all the encouragement Logan needed. He kissed and bit up and down her neck and collarbone, focusing on each of her sweet spots, while keeping his thrusts short until she started to beg for more. He drove into her deep and hard until her clenching muscles made him come with her.

Completely spent, Logan held Veronica to his chest, "I love you so much." He kissed her temple, "When our legs work again, let's go get some of your stuff and bring it home."

Veronica smiled up at him with unfocused eyes, "Mmm…yes. To our home."

"Yeah…our home."

* * *

The next morning Veronica sat at her desk at work, deliciously sore and exhausted. Logan had been so eager to get Veronica officially moved in that, after making love to her, he had insisted they go and pack up whatever would fit in the Range Rover. Packing apparently was a big turn on for Logan, as was unpacking and waking up together. Veronica shifted in her office chair, feeling a bit uncomfortable. _Maybe I'll beg out early and go home to use that great bathtub._ She thought, while continuing to try to find a comfortable position.

"Veronica, you've got a call," the secretary called from outside Veronica's office.

"Thanks, Susan," Veronica replied before accepting the call.

"Veronica Mars," she answered briskly, reaching for her notebook.

"Veronica? Finally, I've been trying to reach you." The familiar voice of Leo D'Amato came over the line.

"Well, Leo, most people get the hint when someone doesn't return their—" she reached for her cell phone and checked the call log, "—eighteen calls. If I wanted to talk to you I would have called you back."

"Did you listen to my voicemails?" he asked, desperation plain in his voice.

"The first five or so, yes. But Leo, nothing has changed. Hmm…that's not true. A lot has changed, but my decision hasn't," Veronica said firmly.

"Well if you'd listened to the last few you'd know I have to come down and testify to the previous stalking and Piz's violation of the deal he made with our DA here. I want to see you; I want to stay with you while I'm there giving my deposition. Please, we can still work this out. Give me the chance to convince you to come home, to our home."

"I have a new home now Leo," Veronica said, trying not to let her temper get the best of her. It was bad enough she had to hear this from her dad, and she knew it would only get worse when she told him her change of address.

"That crappy apartment! That's not a home."

"No Leo. I moved out of that place. I…I met someone. I moved—I'm moving in with him." _Well, shit. Looks like my lack of impulse control just earned me an awkward conversation with dear old dad sooner rather than later._

"Met someone!? You just moved! How could you have—Echolls?" Leo's voice sounded devastated and then angry. "You don't even know him."

"Yes, I moved in with Logan. And I don't want you to stay with us while you're here; get the DA to put you up somewhere."

"You don't even know him!" he said more forcefully. "You gave up on us; he's just some rebound."

"Please stop. I'm not going back to Portland. Find someone who wants what you want."

"I love you, Veronica."

"But I don't love you, Leo. You're a nice guy; go find someone who wants the same things that you do. That's just not me." Veronica sighed, trying to keep her frustration at bay.

"And Echolls wants what you want? Do you even know what you want?" The anger was back in his voice.

"I do, and he does. He listens when I tell him what I'm thinking and feeling. You only ever told me what was wrong with what I was thinking and feeling. And my time as Piz's hostage only drove that point home. Have you seen the report? Do you know what he said to me?"

"I read it and I've listened to the audio," Leo replied, defeat lacing his words.

"Good. Then you know that not only was that a horrible experience for me, but Piz used a few of your favorite lines. ' _I know you're damaged Veronica, but I can fix you'_ or my other favorite ' _Let me make love to you, I know what you need'_. Did it ever occur to you that I knew what I needed and that maybe you should have asked?" Veronica was fuming now.

"It's different, Veronica. I love you." Leo pled.

"You know what? Piz thinks he loves me too. But you know what else? He's delusional. What's your excuse for treating me like this?"

"I didn't, I don't. Veronica, what are you talking about?"

"Logan has never once treated me like there was something wrong with me. And he sure as hell doesn't tell me what I need. He asks and then he gives. My god, you probably have no idea what I'm even talking about." Veronica sighed with frustration and pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "Forget it, Leo. I'm done with this conversation. I appreciate that you'll be coming down to testify for the prosecution against Piz. I really do. But you and me? We are over. We will interact only as far as is necessary for the case and professionally."

"No! Veronica you have to give me another chance. What if I got a transfer?"

"I didn't leave because I didn't like Portland, Leo. I left because I was miserable. Please let this go and move on. I have and I'm happy for the first time in years. You deserve that too."

"I can't be happy without you." Leo's voice was forlorn.

"And I can't be happy with you. Move on Leo. Stop calling me. Stop asking my dad to talk to me about you. I'm not going to change my mind." With that, she hung up the phone.

While Veronica had been talking to Leo, she had been writing down all of his contact information in her notebook. As soon as she finished she went out to see Susan. "Susan, I need you to screen my calls. If another call comes in from any of these numbers," she handed over the sheet of paper, "I need you to tell them I'm unavailable and take a message."

"Okay, Veronica. Is everything okay? I could sorta hear," Susan asked, concern lining her face.

"Yeah I'm fine. Or I will be. An ex is just having a hard time accepting reality and letting go." Veronica let out a frustrated sigh. "Actually Susan, can you let everyone know I'm not feeling well? I'm going home for the rest of the day."

"You got it. Feel better, Veronica," Susan called brightly with a wink.

* * *

Logan checked his tie one last time in the reflection of the Range Rover's heavily tinted windows. There was no getting around this meeting, despite the fact that it was ruining the high he'd been riding since Veronica had agreed to move in with him. But Logan's twenty-fifth birthday was less than six months away, and if he wanted to continue to have access to his trust and to have the final tier released to him, he would have to endure a series of very personal and probing meetings with the trustees. Not for the first time, Logan wished he had an irrevocable trust. Unfortunately, what he had was a trust that was lorded over by his abusive and manipulative father. Fortunately, in more recent years Logan had only had to deal with the manipulative side.

Logan shook out his hands and then reached for the door to enter the restaurant. This meeting was supposed to include Ari, bean counter to the stars, but at the last minute he hadn't been able to fly up with Aaron. So, for the first time in more than six years, Logan was sitting down with his father without any kind of buffer.

Aaron stood and waved from a table in the middle of the trendy lunch spot. This wasn't the kind of place Logan liked to frequent, but it wasn't like he'd been given much of a choice.

"Hello, Son!" Aaron held his arms open, expecting a hug, while Logan held out his hand. Aaron looked chagrined, but lowered his arms and shook Logan's hand.

"Hi, Dad. How's making money off the opinion-less masses treating you?"

"You tell _me,_ Son. How is it treating you?" Aaron asked sharply, his pretend dad shtick gone.

"Pretty good, I suppose. Business is booming." Logan bared his teeth in something resembling a smile.

"So Ari tells me. Seems like you're actually supporting yourself with that ridiculous business of yours. I suppose that's good; it means your trust will last and I won't have to bail you out like I have your sister."

"How is old Trix doing?" Logan asked, flicking a lemon seed out of his water.

"You know your sister. She has no direction. She's in Europe doing some kind of cleanse or whatever." Aaron grinned menacingly at Logan. "You find a lot of need for cleanses in your line of _work_ , Son?"

Logan smiled blandly, ignoring his father's comment, and looked down at the lunch menu. Of course Aaron would pick a place with an emphasis on seafood; it was a damned oyster bar. _This is what I get for not doing a Yelp search before agreeing to a restaurant._ Almost everything on the menu had shellfish. Logan abruptly dropped the menu. "Let's cut the crap. Either you still can't remember or don't care, but I can't eat anything they serve here. So rather than drag this out, let's deal with the agenda and then I can go grab a taco from the truck down the street."

Aaron frowned, looking down at the menu with confusion.

"Can't remember it is. I'm allergic to shellfish." Aaron continued to look confused. "Seriously!? We've had this discussion more than once. Even if I order something without shellfish in it…" Logan pulled his napkin off his lap and threw it on the floor. "You know what, never mind—I'm out of here. Next time, get a reservation somewhere I won't need an EpiPen followed by a trip to the hospital to eat at." Logan pushed up from the table.

"You know the rules, Son. You see me, or you are in violation of the terms of your trust. You wouldn't want to lose that precious house of yours or that ridiculous shop, now would you?" Aaron hissed out.

"I saw you; you saw me. I'm outta here. This is why I don't meet you without one of the others. I'm not some twelve-year-old anymore."

"If I remember right, I could still get the best of you at seventeen. Think you could take your old man? You're looking pretty fit for a fairy."

"Careful _Dad_ , someone might hear you." Logan turned on his heel and left the restaurant, ignoring the stares of most of the other patrons. Before he was even outside, he'd pulled up the contact information of the other trustees and begun drafting an email to let them know he had attended the meeting but that his father had been uncooperative. Logan then sent a text to Aaron's publicist, warning her that Aaron had called him a fairy in public; she might want to get ahead of that. The last thing Logan wanted was to be on Page Six. _Should have thought of that before I stormed out of a restaurant. Guess I inherited some of their dramatic flare…oh well._

Maybe Veronica can take off early and we can move some more of her stuff in. Logan smiled to himself as he climbed in his SUV.

* * *

Veronica had just finished putting in the security code when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a text from Logan wanting to know if she could leave work early. She smiled and replied that she was pretty sure she could do that, and then followed it up with a short grocery list for him. She wanted to call her dad before Logan got back and anticipated that a trip to the store would buy her enough time.

She headed back to their bedroom and quickly changed into a light camisole and soft lounge pants. She grabbed her phone and decided to take it out on the balcony, hoping that the view and fire table would help her to keep her cool with her father. The newly installed wall of pre-grown lattice was a bonus. Veronica had refused to do more than sit out there until Logan put in some means of keeping people from seeing them from the street or building next door. The full green leaves made the sitting area all but invisible to anyone not in a helicopter.

She turned on the gas fire table from the app Logan had installed on her phone and then selected her dad's number and waited for him to answer.

"Keith Mars." His confident voice resonated in Veronica's ear.

"Hey Dad."

"Honey! I'm so glad you called. Did you talk to Leo? He said he was going to call you today." He sounded so excited. Veronica had mentioned that she was dating but she hadn't been very forthcoming with any of the details and he hadn't asked. What did surprise her about his statement was that he didn't seem aware that she hadn't been taking Leo's calls until that day, which of course hadn't been voluntary.

"Um…yeah I did talk to him…Dad we need to—"

"Veronica, he's really looking forward to getting to come down and see you. I know you've been upset about everything that happened with Piz, but I think you'll feel so much better after Leo gets there. He's so excited about staying with you. I know he's really missed you," he said warmly.

"About that. I feel fine about what happened with Piz. Leo isn't going to make me feel better. I um…you know I've been seeing someone." Veronica tried to keep her voice steady.

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it means what I said. I've been seeing someone, you know dating? And Leo isn't staying with me because I'm in the process of moving." Veronica heard the alarm chirp. She stood up from the outdoor couch and waved to Logan as he walked into the kitchen. He smiled broadly and turned to put things away in the refrigerator.

The first few weeks after Logan had rescued her from Piz, Veronica had been hesitant about the direction of their relationship but Logan had been persistent without being overbearing. And eventually Veronica had realized she was being a fool. Who wouldn't want to be with Logan? She knew it was just her fear that he would lose interest in her. Several months later there was no sign of that happening.

Veronica felt a warmth spread through her body as she thought of just how _interested_ in her Logan was.

"Moving? I thought you liked that apartment."

Veronica blew out a harsh breath at coming back to the reality of the conversation. Clearly her dad hadn't been listening to much of what she'd said over the last few weeks, or in this talk either. "I did like it and then Piz broke in, hid cameras, recorded my most private moments, tied me up and tried to convince me that the only way I'd ever be loved was by him. So, you know, the place kind of lost its charm."

She heard his harsh intake of breath. "I guess when you put it like that, I understand your desire to find a different place. What did you find?"

Veronica cleared her throat. "I didn't so much find a place as I'm moving in with someone." All this dancing around the subject was wearing heavily on her. She heard the door click, and moments later felt Logan snuggle in behind her, his warm soft lips pressing against the column of her neck.

"You found a roommate, that's great. I never really liked the idea of you living alone."

Veronica suppressed a groan, "I didn't find a roommate; I've been dating someone and now I've moved in with him. I moved in with my boyfriend, Dad." Her proclamation was met with silence on the phone, and more soft kisses and a tighter embrace from Logan. She leaned her head back against his shoulder giving him access to more of her neck.

"You didn't mention that you were dating, Veronica. What's going on? You're acting very strange."

"I have mentioned it. I've been seeing Logan for a few months. Alicia and I talk about him all the time. Anyway, it's not like I joined a cult; I moved in with my boyfriend. I have a new address, which I will email you later. And I'm happy." She could feel Logan practically vibrating behind her, kissing from the edge of one shoulder over to the other as she spoke. Rather than risk her dad hearing them move from playful to _more,_ Veronica ended that call and tossed her phone to the end of the couch. There was nothing her father could say right now that wouldn't upset her, and all she wanted was to get lost in Logan.

* * *

"Yelena, did she tell you when the article would be coming out?" the gruff voice asked.

"Yes, she said she would be submitting it today and it should come out in the next edition," Yelena replied, biting her lip nervously.

"Excellent. We can finally be rid of those abominable sheep brothers."

"I think you mean Lamb."

"Sheep…Lamb, no matter. So long as they are gone. And what of Diller? Did he get what we asked for?"

"Yes, he delivered the jump drive to me earlier today."

"Did you watch it? Is it what he said?"

Yelena cleared her throat. "Yes, Uncle. It is everything he said it was." _And more…_

"Then we are almost done. You know who to send it to, _da_?"

"I do. She promised to send me the link to the article as soon as it's released. I will send the video file as soon as I hear from her."

"You've done well. Go celebrate. We'll speak again soon."

Yelena ended that call and curled up on her bed, feeling anything but good about what she had done and what she must do next.

* * *

After making love on their now completely private balcony, Veronica had headed back to their shared home office. Logan sat in the leather reclining chair that had been in Veronica's living room just the day before. It made a surprisingly good addition to the office. Logan could recline in it with his laptop and just watch Veronica's adorable head tilts and whispers as she edited her article.

Logan was deep into his own writing, a scene of Vivian Lester organizing her notes and stumbling across a clue, when Veronica declared, "Sent!" She then pulled the laptop out of his hands and took its place. She snuggled into his arms and kissed along his jaw until Logan turned to meet her lips.

He kissed her deeply and shifted her small frame until she was straddling him and kissed her quickly on the tip of her nose. "What do you want for dinner?"

Veronica quirked her lips in a half smile, "Does the Red Tavern deliver? I'm in the mood for Russian."

* * *

A/N: Many thanks go to Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha for their beta-tastic-ness and for many fun discussion about where this story is going. And I can't say enough how much all of you reading, commenting, follow, favoriting, subscribing (you get the idea) keep me motivated. I'm having so much fun with this little (not so little anymore I guess) AU world and I have a lot planned for them. So thank you for coming on this journey with me and I can't wait to hear what you all think. Side note: I'm not 100% certain about my posting schedule for this but probably about once a week.


	2. Chapter 2

Two Weeks Later…

Veronica arrived at her and Logan's beautiful Calhoun Terrace home. Things had been going pretty well the last two weeks. She had finished moving all of her things in, and Logan had been surprisingly laid back about the few decorating tweaks she'd made. Veronica had made a point of rewarding him for how well he was taking the changes she was making to his home…their home. That was, until he admitted that a decorator had set up the place and that he'd had very little interest in the process.

She had been mad at first, since she'd been being so careful to not tread on his style, but after realizing that he didn't care if she wanted to make changes, she embraced it. Her first plan of action had been to set up an area in the huge kitchen for all of her favorite baking supplies. After telling Logan her plan, he had surprised her with an impromptu shopping trip to Sur La Table followed by some greasy goodness from Gott's Roadside since both were located in the Ferry Building. Veronica enjoyed thinking back on the ridiculous conversation about why it was called Gott's 'Roadside.' " _It's an actual roadside stand"_ Logan has insisted. But of course they had been sitting in the Ferry Building in what was basically a cafeteria-style room, which Veronica had pointed out. So while enjoying a couple of beers with their gourmet greasy goodness Logan had insisted he would prove it to her by taking a trip to the Napa Valley so she could see the original roadside version. The visit would apparently also include checking out some grocery store with a crazy cheese selection and a few wineries.

Veronica was brought out of her reverie by a loud knocking and then the chiming of the doorbell. She reluctantly trudged back to the front door and opened it without checking who was there. Greeting her on the other side of the door was a kneeling Leo. In one hand he held a large bouquet of dyed daisies, still wrapped in cellophane, and there was a small brown velvet ring box in the other. _What is with the bad proposals?_ Veronica sighed heavily. She was getting ready to slam the door in Leo's face when she saw a tear trace down his cheek.

"Veronica Lianne Mars, with your father's permission and blessing, will you make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

Veronica couldn't hold back a groan; this was even worse than she had expected. Leo held out the small ring box and showed her a lovely gold band adorned with a small pear shaped diamond. It was a sweet ring that she knew had belonged to Leo's grandmother. There had even been a time, brief though it was, when she'd hoped it would be her ring one day.

"Leo what are you thinking?" Leo looked up at her, obviously taken aback. _Great, he's surprised by my reaction._

"I—I know you were unhappy when we were living together. We should have been married first. It was a mistake. One I want to fix. Let me make this right. Say yes and come home with me." He was so earnest and sincere that it made Veronica sad.

She shook her head, "I broke up with you. I moved to a different state. I just moved in with another man…you think I did all that because I was upset you didn't ask me to marry you?" She asked as calmly as she could.

"He's a rebound! I know you love me." He insisted, finally rising up from his kneeling position.

"What is wrong with you? Why would you think that? I don't love you, how many times do I have to tell you that before it gets through your thick skull?" Veronica threw her eyes heavenward in exasperation.

"No V, you just have a hard time saying it. I know you!"

"Clearly not, I didn't have any trouble saying it to Logan. Who coincidently will be home any minute. You need to leave." Veronica said seeing the time on her watch.

"I'm not going anywhere." Leo crossed his arms across his chest.

"Fine Leo. But this doesn't change anything." She slammed the door in his face and pulled out her cell phone.

 **From Veronica Mars to Logan Echolls, 6:37pm:  
** Park in the garage and come up from there. I'll explain when you get here.

* * *

Logan hit the button for the garage as he pulled up to his and Veronica's home. He noticed an out of place sedan with rental plates parked illegally by their driveway and was surprised they hadn't been ticketed. Veronica took some strange pleasure in calling in that sort of thing. He parked the Range Rover next to Veronica's much more conservative Honda Civic, which he was determined to get her to trade-in. Secretly, he just wanted an excuse to buy a BMW M6 convertible but couldn't really justify the purchase if it was for him. _Maybe a Christmas present?_

Logan loped up the stairs and stopped short of wrapping his arms around her when he saw her expression. _That is one angry Veronica._

"Hi sugarplum, is everything okay?" He asked nervously.

"It is most definitely _not_ okay." Veronica stepped forward and, much to Logan's surprise, wrapped her arms around his waist.

"All right. I'm guessing from the way you're holding on to me that I'm not the reason you're so angry?" He asked while tilting her head up to look at him.

"No, you are definitely not why I'm mad. No, the reason for my anger is currently standing, or maybe kneeling again, out on our stoop." She practically growled.

"You are _definitely_ going to have to be a bit more specific, because I'm feeling a little lost here." He brushed a few hairs behind her ear and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Leo is here. At the front door." Veronica waved her hand in the direction of the door in question.

"Okay. Why is he outside? I know you didn't really want to see him, but you could have invited him inside. Honestly, I'm kind of curious to meet him. You know? Meet the spurned lover." He chuckled lightly in her ear.

"Trust me, he is not welcome in our home." Veronica said, exhaustion clear in her voice as she pulled out of Logan's arms. "He showed up with flowers and a ring."

"Wow. Um…based on your current state, I take it you were not receptive—which, by the way, makes me more pleased than you could ever know—but why is he still here if you turned him down?" Logan asked feeling both confused and elated.

"I don't know. He refuses to accept reality." Veronica threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"Why don't you go start a bath and relax. I'll talk to him." Logan offered.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Veronica was shaking her head, but Logan wasn't worried about Leo. The guy was heartbroken. Who wouldn't be after losing Veronica?

Logan took Veronica by the shoulders and gently turned her toward their bedroom. "Go on. It'll be fine. And I'll come join you in a few minutes." He kissed her neck softly from behind and patted her on the bottom to send her off, which earned him a small glare.

Once Veronica had disappeared into their bedroom, Logan walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed two Coronas and a bottle opener. Logan knew that Leo had been calling a lot lately. It had gotten bad enough that VeornicaVeronica had the office manager screening her calls. Leo just needed a chance to reconcile his hopes with what was actually happening.

Logan opened the door and Leo popped up, holding out the dyed daisies.

Leo's face dropped, "You're not Veronica."

"No, I'm not. But I _do_ come bearing beer." Logan offered the bottle to the forlorn man before sitting down on the top stair. Leo accepted and popped open the bottle then took a deep drink. Logan offered him a sad smile.

"She should be coming home with me. Her whole life is back in Portland. Keith was so sure this was the right thing; that she just needs the stability." Leo looked up at Logan then. "God how pathetic am I that I'm telling _you_ this?"

Logan shook his head, "Not at all man. I get it. I've had my heart crushed before, too. If it's any consolation, she's not doing any of this to hurt you. I don't know everything that happened, but Leo, man, you need to let her make her own decisions. You showing up here and telling her what she needs to do and what she wants…" Logan stopped and turned to make eye contact with Leo. "I've only known her a few months, and even I know what a terrible idea that is. You've known her for what? Four years?"

Leo nodded and put his face in his hands. "I went to all the classes and seminars about dealing with victims of abuse and assault. I thought I was helping. I thought she just needed to relax and open up."

Logan felt a wave of irritation at Leo's clear lack of understanding. "I get it. You've never had anything bad happen to you." Logan took a sip of his beer, "You can't possibly understand. You can be sympathetic, but it's not the same thing. And what you're talking about, these classes, they were for cops right? Those weren't for helping your girlfriend."

Leo sat up and glared at Logan, the sad, dejected look was now replaced with anger. "What the fuck would you know about it?"

Logan finished his beer and laughed as he stood up. "I know plenty."

"You're just some pretty-boy son of a celebrity. She's only with you for your money." Leo spat as Logan reached for the doorknob.

Logan turned to face Leo one last time, "And here I thought it was for my hot body and all the orgasms. Get off my property before I call the real cops." Logan snatched the empty bottle from Leo and went back inside.

Just inside the door stood Veronica, a few tears gathering in her eyes. Logan quickly reset the alarm and set the bottles down so that he could wrap his arms around her, but she took a few steps back.

"Do you really think that's why I'm with you?" Her lip trembled.

Logan wanted to kick himself. "No, god no. I'm so sorry; I was just being an ass. I wanted to get to him. I don't think that at all." He took a small step in her direction, and when she didn't back away, he moved closer and took her hands in his. "I love you, and I know you love me too. If this were just physical I'm pretty sure we both would have moved on already. And I can tell you right now, I would never have asked you to move in with me if I didn't think what we had was something really special."

Veronica relaxed into him, "I think what we have is really special too. Thank you for trying to talk to him; it sounded like you were getting through to him until the end there."

Logan pulled away a bit and brushed some loose hair off her face. "Let's go take that bath, hmm? I can open some wine and we can just relax and focus on how exciting it's going to be when your name is splashed across newspapers across around the country for exposing dirty government agents."

She smiled playfully up at him, "Yeah, okay. Let's not exaggerate, though. Not the _whole_ nation…but maybe regionally."

* * *

Leo was furious. _Where does this Echolls guy get off!?_ He slammed his fist into the dash of his rental car's and then threw the flowers out the window, littering be damned. Not sure where he was going, Leo found himself back at the precinct where he had been meeting with the officers and ADA assigned to the Piznarski case.

He pulled into the parking garage and headed in to see if there was anything more he could do that day. If there wasn't, he'd head to the closest bar and tie one on. Leo had barely made it to Inspector Saito's department before he ran into one of the guys he'd waited with earlier.

Leo held out his hand to shake with the younger officer. "Dillon right?"

"Diller. Nice to see you again, D'Amato. That ADA sure was a bitch, am I right? Bet her and the Mars bitch got along like two peas in a pod."

"Um…yeah sure." Leo found himself caught off guard by the comment.

"You seen the videos?" Diller asked in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, I've seen the footage of the fight where Echolls took out Piznarski," Leo confirmed.

"No dude, I'm talking about the footage from before he took her hostage. Piznarski had cameras in her place for at least a week. There's a bunch of her being boring, you know: eating dinner and watching Netflix…whatever. But the really good stuff happens the day he first left the flowers in her apartment. She's a wild one." Diller leered.

Leo was at a loss for words. Keith had mentioned that there were recordings, but Leo had assumed that they were all from the day that Piz had held Veronica hostage in her own apartment. Veronica was a lot of things but 'wild' wasn't one of the words he would use to describe any aspect of her personality. Maybe she really _had_ changed since she left. Leo let his curiosity get the better of him.

"You don't say? I dated her for a while; wild isn't how I would have described her," Leo whispered back.

"You gotta see these then. I got a buddy in evidence; he'll let us sneak in after hours if you're interested. We could go grab a couple beers until his shift starts," Diller offered.

Leo couldn't imagine getting a better offer than that today. "You know what, that sounds great."

* * *

Their bath had been very relaxing, as were the activities that followed. Apparently, being naked in the same vicinity, eh, who was she kidding, just being in the same vicinity as Logan was an aphrodisiac. And, while it was true that it wasn't the reason she was with him now, she did have to admit that at first the physical attraction was what had caused her to give in and stay that first night with him. But it was something else entirely that had led to her taking that leap and staying with him that entire week while the police searched for Piz. It might have been love, but Veronica wasn't a believer in love at first sight, lust sure, but not love. At the time she hadn't been certain what it was, but after hearing him talk to Leo she thought she might have figured out another part of what drew them together.

Veronica rolled over so she was facing Logan rather than being the little spoon. "Logan, can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he whispered and kissed her on the forehead.

"I-I'm not sure how to ask this. I don't want to upset you," she said nervously.

Logan's expression turned very serious, "Are you going to ask to see other people?"

"Oh my god. No!"

"Then you have nothing to worry about. That is the only thing that could possibly upset me right now." His face softened and he held her tightly. "Ask away."

"When we first met…what attracted you to me?"

Logan's soft chuckle startled her. "You thought that question would upset me? Um…what attracted me to you? Well, you're sassy, and, while you look like this tiny cheerleader of a girl, you're tough and sincere. Wow, I don't know Bobcat. Everything about you drew me in."

Veronica swallowed hard. "Do you think part of it is that we've both-both been…"

Veronica felt Logan's arms squeeze her in reassurance. "Both been victims? I dunno. Maybe. I think it gives us a shared understanding. We both know what it is to not have control of our lives, our bodies," he said tenderly. "But I don't think that's all of it. That just helps to understand certain 'quirks' we both have."

"I like that. 'Quirks'." Veronica giggled at the absurdity of the term. They had quirks all right…that was one way to put it. At first Veronica thought she was the one with all the landmines that had to be stepped around, but as she started spending more and more time with Logan she'd come to realize she wasn't the only one with a minefield. Logan's _quirks_ , it turned out, were more of the emotional variety than the physical. One afternoon they'd seen a little boy drop his ice cream cone. Veronica had thought nothing of it. The little guy cried and his dad bought him a new one. But after that Logan had been quiet and distant the rest of the day. It wasn't until that night that Veronica had finally gotten him to tell her that it had brought back memories of growing up and that they didn't end with his dad buying him a new ice cream cone.

"We both have certain needs that other people don't always have the ability to understand. But more than any of that, I think we just click. You're my partner." He shrugged.

"I like that, too." Veronica snuggled in closer. "Did he tell you he asked for, and received, my dad's _blessing_?"

"What? No." Logan was quiet for a few moments. "Bobcat, I think it might be time for your dad and I to meet."

"I haven't met your dad, Muffin."

"Well, I _hate_ my dad. But you _love_ yours. He's going to be a part of our lives, right?" Logan asked.

Veronica thought about the question. Was her dad going to be a part of their lives? Certainly there would be the occasional family holiday gathering, but Veronica had no intention of moving back to Portland. Of course, if she and Logan ever had kids… _Where did that come from?_

"Not really. I mean, he lives far enough away that he won't just be popping in for a visit. I don't really care if he's supportive." She buried her face in Logan's chest.

"Hey, don't do that." He nuzzled the top of her head then pulled her away so she had to meet his eyes. "I'm the one who has daddy issues. And besides I don't have any family, just a handful of trusted friends, and now you. But it isn't just about him. What about Alicia, Wallace and Darrell? And speaking of them, when does Wallace get back from Africa?"

 _Oh right…the family that I love…_ "Should be right around Thanksgiving, I think. I'll have to check his last email. And you're right; I would miss Alicia and Darrell, too."

Abruptly Veronica was rolled to the side. "Then we'll go to Portland for Thanksgiving!" Logan declared, hoping out the bed, grabbing Veronica's hand, and dragging her out of their bedroom.

"Logan! Can I grab a robe or something?" Veronica shrieked as a naked Logan pulled Veronica into their office.

He stopped and leered at her, "Nope, I like you like this." He smacked her lightly on the ass and pulled her into his lap before opening up his computer. Veronica watched as he started searching for plane tickets. "On second thought, why don't you go call your dad and let him know the plan? I'll get us plane tickets and a place to stay. How many days?"

"I guess, three? Maybe four if we want to do something just the two of us?"

"Four it is. Go call." Logan dismissed her from the room, so Veronica headed back to their bedroom. While she supposed she could call them without getting dressed, there was something strange about talking to your parents while naked. It just felt wrong.

She grabbed her cell phone and a robe before heading out to the deck, her favorite place to make phone calls. She selected her dad and Alicia's contact from her favorites and settled onto the outdoor couch. The phone rang a few times before a pleasant voice answered.

"Veronica Mars! How are you sweetheart?"

"Hi Alicia Mars! I'm doing pretty good, despite a surprise visit…" Veronica sighed.

"A surprise visit? I thought you knew Leo was going to be there. I'm sure Keith said you knew…" Her words trailed off.

"I knew he was coming. I didn't know he was going to show up at mine and Logan's home and ask me to marry him."

"What!? He did what?" Alicia sounded genuinely surprised. "Oh honey, no. He didn't. I'm so sorry. If I'd known…"

Veronica exhaled in relief. "It's okay, Alicia. I feel better knowing you weren't in on this."

"Which implies that your father was. Don't worry, Veronica; he'll be hearing all about it from me. Are you okay? I hope Logan wasn't too upset."

It was another one of many moments where Veronica felt true affection and love for her stepmother. Alicia, even before marrying Keith, had been an important fixture in Veronica's life since her mother had left them. And when Veronica had shared with Alicia that she was seeing Logan, Alicia had listened and been supportive even when her father had acted as if he hadn't heard what she was saying.

"I'm better now than I was earlier. And Logan was actually great. He even tried to talk to Leo. Plied him with beer and everything. But you know how Leo is: in denial until he breaks," Veronica answered sadly.

"I do, honey, I do. You know Wallace is going to be home soon, and Darrell misses you," Alicia said hesitantly.

"That's actually why I'm calling. This whole incident with Leo has Logan wanting to meet the family. And as loathe as I am to have him and Dad in the same room, I think he might have a point. Maybe if Dad knew Logan he wouldn't have 'given his blessing' for Leo to propose," Veronica admitted grudgingly.

Alicia's throaty chuckle comforted Veronica. "Yeah, I think that might be a good idea. Does that mean you two are going to come up for a visit—perhaps for Thanksgiving?"

"If you'll have us."

"We will. I've missed you a lot, kiddo. Will you be staying with us? You're old room is still setup as the guest room."

"That's a really nice offer, but I think we're going to get a room somewhere close by. I want Dad and Logan to get to know each other, but a little more…gradually."

Alicia laughed. "You might be right about that. Just email me your itinerary and I will be very much looking forward to seeing you and meeting Logan in…two weeks. I can't believe Thanksgiving is in two weeks."

"Caught up with us. Thank you Alicia. And give Dad hell."

"Will do. Love you and talk to you soon."

"Love you too." Veronica hung up the phone and was greeted by Logan's melt you to the core smile.

"We all set?"

"Yep. And Alicia is going to kick Dad's ass."

"I expected nothing less from a Mars woman."

* * *

"Boss man is going to be so happy with me. I found the perfect patsy. Idiot cop from some Podunk place up north. Totally in love with the Mars bitch. Got him good and drunk and had him practically begging me to see the tapes. And then he got to see her beg that Echolls guy to give it to her harder. He cried and everything." Chip's laughter hurt Yelena's ears. She really didn't like this guy, but it wasn't as if they gave her much of a choice.

"Well, thank you, Chip. I know my father will be pleased, as will Uncle Lev." Yelena quickly ended the call and dreaded the next she would have to make.

The phone rang a few times. " _Allo_." Came a familiar male voice.

"Gorya, is Uncle Lev available?" Yelena asked in English, knowing that Gory's Russian wasn't great.

"Oh, hey Lena, yeah he's around here somewhere." Yelena could hear Gory speaking to someone away from the phone. "He'll be here in just a minute. So Lena, what are you doing this weekend?"

Gory was a big flirt, and while Yelena knew that part of the reason they had sent her to California from Chicago was to meet, and hopefully hit it off with one of the Sorokin sons, she couldn't help but be put off by Gory's egotistical and misogynistic attitude. Of course most of the men in her family were the same way, but she'd hoped that the California branch of the 'family' would be a little more progressive. She felt herself deflate at the realization that, of the acceptable men her aunt had introduced her to, Gory was by far the least old school and also the least involved in the 'family business.' Both of which, she had to admit, did have their appeal.

"This weekend…I don't have any plans." She covered the mouthpiece and let herself sigh in disappointment.

"You do now. There's this restaurant I want to try—we'll go together. It's Lebanese," Gory said conspiratorially into the phone.

And he surprised her; did he know that she liked Lebanese food? It seemed plausible that he'd know that she'd traveled through that region, but she didn't remember expressing any preference for the cuisine to anyone.

"I didn't realize you liked Mediterranean food."

"What? Just because when we're with the family, you've only seen me eat Russian stuff doesn't mean I don't like other things. There is a great deal you don't know about me, Lena."

Just as Yelena was preparing a response, Gory interrupted her. "Uncle Lev is here. I'll pick you up at seven on Saturday."

"Yelena, you have an update?" Lev Sorokin's deep voice came across the line.

"Yes, _Dyadya_. Diller believes he has someone to easily put the blame on. This man apparently was once involved with Ms. Mars and is very jealous of her relationship with Logan Echolls. He has been in direct contact with the tapes as well."

"Excellent. And she has confirmed the article's release?"

"Yes, she sent me an advance copy, and it will be published tomorrow," she replied sadly.

"Yelena, there is no room for such silly emotions here. You had a job and you did it. So did she. This is important for your family and mine. You have done well; don't ruin that by doing something you can't take back."

"I understand my place."

"Good. Your aunt is going to take you shopping for something nice to wear on your date this weekend with Gorya. That could be a good match; he is more…American in his thinking."

"Thank you," Yelena said, not sure of anything she could say that wouldn't cause her problems.

"Good night, Yelena," he said and the call disconnected.

Yelena realized something else. If she was going to survive all of this, she was going to have to do a better job of hiding how she felt about the things she was asked to do. She filled her glass of wine to almost overflowing and curled up in bed to read and hopefully forget how unhappy she was, even if it was for just a little while.

* * *

The next morning dawned like most San Francisco mornings did, foggy and cool. But Veronica felt energized. Despite the brief upset of dealing with Leo, the previous day had been pretty great. She loved her job, she loved her new home, and she loved Logan. Nothing could ruin the cloud of happiness that she was floating on.

She smiled and stretched, disturbing Logan who had been making soft breathing noises next to her. He rolled over facing her, eyes still shut, but with a goofy grin on his face. "Good morning Veronica Mars, Ace Reporter." He said in a sleep-roughened voice before rolling into her and nuzzling her neck. His stubble tickled, and she couldn't help the giggle that bubbled out of her, which seemed to only encourage him.

A little out of breath and definitely awake, Veronica placed her hands on Logan's cheeks and pulled him up for a quick kiss. "You are so much trouble." She couldn't help but smile.

He returned her kiss and settled on top of her briefly before rolling them so that she was straddling his hips. He smiled broadly up at her with twinkling eyes. "It never gets old waking up with you." Logan settled his hands on her hips.

"I have to agree with that. So what do you have going on today? Heather is running the shop, right?" she asked, rocking her hips against his just enough to cause Logan to make one his cute little happy sounds.

He closed his eyes in a long blink and then used his hands to grind her against him again, causing them both to moan in pleasure. He then squeezed her hips tightly, stilling the movement and cleared his throat. "Yes, Heather has the shop today. I'm meeting Ratner for a workout and then maybe lunch. Might get some writing in. You?"

She tried to reengage the rocking motion from just moments before, but he held her still, waiting for her answer. "I'll be fielding the calls that come in as soon as the article is released to the public. It's so big they gave me two interns to help. Who knew caviar and vodka was so exciting?"

"They do sound sexy and exposing government corruption and mob tax evasion is a kinda big deal, sugarpuss." Logan winked at her.

Then, rather than releasing the hold he had on her hips, he lifted her up off of him and shifted her so that when he lowered her back down he was entering her. Veronica moaned involuntarily as Logan kept his tight grip on her and moved her up and down his length slowly. He continued the slow and glorious torture until Veronica couldn't take it anymore.

"Please, Logan," she moaned on a downward thrust.

"Please what? Tell me what you want. I'll give you anything." He watched her with worshipful eyes.

"More," she gasped. "Harder."

"As you wish." Logan flipped them over and was hovering over her, the only weight she could feel at her hips. "Okay?" He gazed into her eyes with an intensity that she'd only ever seen him direct at her.

"Yes." Veronica leaned up and captured his lips, which was apparently all the encouragement Logan needed. He leaned back on his knees, grabbed one of her ankles, held it to his shoulder and drove into her hard. Both of them cried out at the sensation of him filling her. She felt her entire body tensing, getting closer. When his free hand made contact with her clit, it sent her over the edge with Logan following right behind her.

When they'd started to recover a few minutes later, Veronica felt Logan roll her to face him. "Veronica, I want to tell you something, but I'm worried you're going to be upset with me," he confessed.

"Babe, I don't think anything could upset me right now." Veronica was sure that if she had the right anatomy she would be purring.

"Um…I hope so." He cleared his throat. "You know how I've been writing a lot lately?"

"Yeah, your 'Great American Novel'. Sure."

"Right, so that isn't what I've been writing…I kind of started something else. A suspense/murder mystery story, actually." Veronica could see fresh beads of sweat forming on his brow.

"That's great." Veronica was confused why this would upset her, but neither of them was great at predicting the other's reaction sometimes. "You've been writing a lot. You must really be onto something." She smiled encouragingly.

"I think I am, but here's the thing…my protagonist is a tiny blonde investigative reporter with a penchant for getting into trouble…" He covered his face with his arm.

Veronica laid very still and let the news sink in. "You are Richard Castle and I'm your Detective Beckett?"

Logan peeked out from under his arm. "Yeah, I guess you could put it that way." He watched her like a wild animal that might attack at any moment.

Veronica started laughing uncontrollably. Once she'd calmed down a bit, she turned to Logan. "I was wondering why you kept wanting to watch me while I did research and wrote."

Logan smiled shyly. "Well, part of that was for character building, but also I just like having you in my lap." He then popped out of the bed and headed for the bathroom.

"You letch." She giggled, watching him walk away. Veronica stretched then got out of bed to join Logan in the shower in hopes of instigating round two.

* * *

Logan punched the heavy bag slowly, stepped right and kicked the bag. It was a warm-up he was familiar with, but this time he was being watched very closely, which was an unfamiliar sensation. After dealing with Piz, and with the stress of upcoming meetings with his father, Logan had decided to seek out more instruction. And he'd known just whom to ask.

"Look Money-bags, anyone can learn some basic kickboxing moves. You are certainly fit enough. But the difference here is that what you know is showy; it's for the ring where you'd have an opponent following the same rules you are. Now I'd be the last to argue that it isn't enough to take down your typical douchebag, but if you want to know how to really take someone down, someone with skills, we're going to have to change some things about your style." Ratner circled around Logan, watching him go through a list of specific movements.

An hour later, Logan was exhausted and covered in sweat. He took a deep drink of water and started stretching out.

"You did good. You want to make this a regular thing?" Ratner, who had barely broken a sweat, asked.

"Yeah, as often as you're free." Logan panted, working to slow his breathing.

Ratner smiled and laughed a little. "Let's start with twice a week and see how it goes. I don't think Mars would appreciate it if I kept you too worn out for her."

"Speaking of…how are things going with Mac? Veronica said she's been pretty tight-lipped about it."

"Um…I think things are good. We've been spending time together—at least a couple of times a week. You know, normal stuff: dinner, movies…" Ratner shrugged.

"Sleepovers?" Logan grinned up at Ratner.

"I don't kiss and tell." Ratner blushed slightly, much to Logan's glee.

"Oh, come on, man, you know all sorts of stuff about Veronica and I. And I haven't even given you crap about it," Logan teased.

Ratner just shook his head and reached for their gym bags. He handed one to Logan just as a phone started ringing in the bag. Logan reached in. _Hmm…speak of the devil_. He answered, "Logan's House of Love, we'll keep you coming."

"Umm…Logan are you at home?" Veronica sounded nervous.

"No, just leaving the gym with Ratner. What's going on?"

"Head straight home, and bring Ratner. And babe, call your lawyer—we've got a problem."

* * *

AN: Many thanks to Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha for their awesome beta skills :) Thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited this new part of the story I'm so excited so many of you are enjoying it so far. A couple of quick notes: so Yelena (from Ruskie Business) is probably a bit old for Gory so pretend she's younger than she was presented as being in series. They're all in their mid to late twenties and it is late 2012 for a frame of reference. Gott's is real and if you ever find yourself in the bay area totally worth checking out. The original one is in St. Helena (Napa Valley) and if you're willing to brave the traffic and lines I recommend it for lunch – it'll help absorb all the wine you'll be drinking if you find yourself there. The grocery store with the huge specialty cheese selection is Sunshine Foods (also in St. Helena).


	3. Chapter 3

Although Veronica had been manning the phones and micromanaging the interns, they still could barely keep up with the work being thrust upon them. Her editor had sent a special, advance copy to the appropriate people at the local FBI and ATF field offices, as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to the U.S. Attorney at the Northern District of California Department of Justice. _The gang's all here_ , Veronica thought as she finished assembling packets. She was relieved that the task was complete and that they were ready to be messengered upon request. Each packet now contained all of the evidence she had gathered, and it was all practically wrapped up with a neat little bow.

Veronica had decided to turn the phones over to the interns so that she could take a quick lunch break, but she'd barely made it to the break room when Mac came running in.

"Veronica! You need to see this. Now." Mac's cheeks were flushed from the exertion of running full-speed down the hall.

"Okay, Speed Racer. What's going on?" Veronica asked, taking a seat next to the one that Mac had collapsed into as she'd grabbed a tablet.

"As far as I can tell, this was released about fifteen minutes ago." Veronica gave Mac a quizzical look. "Oh, I have alerts set up for you. That way if you get a mention—good or bad—we know."

"Please tell me I've got a good mention and you were just so excited that you had to rush on over to tell me."

Mac grimaced. "Not quite." She hit play on the video.

When the video began, Veronica could see her old living room. Next she heard the closing of a door and heavy breathing. _"Bedroom? Couch? Wall? Fuck Veronica, I need you right now."_ Logan's husky voice came through crystal-clear, yet they were still not visible to the camera. _"I don't care."_ Came Veronica's voice just before they entered the frame.

"Oh my god." Veronica took the tablet from Mac and shut it off. "Please, please tell me that you didn't watch it all and that it was emailed to you by the police who need you to help them learn some important technical something-or-other about it."

"I'm so sorry, Veronica." Mac shook her head.

"Can you pull it? What do we do?" Veronica thought back to that day. "Holy shit! How long is it? We were…"

"Yeah, they posted it all."

Veronica felt her entire world fall out from beneath her, and then she remembered that she wasn't the only person in that video. "God, Logan. I have to go, Mac. I—shit, I have to go."

"Veronica, call your lawyer and the police. They're the ones who can get it pulled. In the meantime, I'll report it as not belonging to the poster."

Veronica nodded and left the office as quickly as she could. Once in the elevator, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Logan. He answered: "Logan's House of Love, we'll keep you coming."

"Umm…Logan, are you at home?" Veronica asked nervously.

"No, just leaving the gym with Ratner. What's going on?"

"Head straight home, and bring Ratner. And babe, call your lawyer—we've got a problem."

* * *

Logan arrived back at their place with Ratner following him. From the living room, he could see Veronica out on the deck. She was talking on her phone, and as they got closer he could hear the tail-end of her conversation.

"Thank you, Inspector. I really appreciate it. Please keep me posted." She hung up the phone and walked toward them. Logan was completely taken aback by the look on her face. Defeat. Anger. Sadness. He could see them all playing in a loop inside of her head. But when their eyes met, she offered him a small smile.

Logan pulled her into him. It didn't matter what was wrong; anything that made her look like that, he was going to destroy. "What's wrong?"

"Can you make me a drink? Something strong. You'd better make yourself one, too." Logan nodded and went to pour them each a scotch. He looked to Ratner who shook his head 'no' before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

Two scotches in hand, Logan joined Veronica and Ratner at the breakfast table. Veronica accepted her drink and took a large sip, which caused her to cough.

"Remember the _lovely_ cameras Piz left in my apartment and how we tried to get custody of all of the footage that did not include Piz?" Logan and Jeff nodded. "Well, we now have a potential lawsuit against the SFPD, but we also have a sex-tape scandal." Veronica grimaced and handed Logan her tablet.

Logan felt his jaw drop. He knew that there was video of them having sex, but he'd never actually seen it. They'd fought very hard to have the footage removed from evidence. Their request had been denied, but the commissioner had personally assured them that the evidence would not be viewed by anyone and would be under lock and key, so-to-speak.

"I'll call Bernie right now." Logan reached for his cell phone.

Ratner put his hand up, "You were speaking to Saitou?" he asked Veronica.

"Yes, and he's looking into who had access to the video and what could have happened. They are also in the process of getting the video blocked, but it didn't sound promising."

"Logan, before you call your lawyer call the publicist. What's her name?" Ratner asked.

Logan couldn't stop his frown. His father's current publicist was an incredibly bubbly blonde, who also moonlighted as Aaron's fuck-buddy. Parker something. But Ratner was right; they'd need her help. Rather than dialing his lawyer, Logan had scrolled down to Parker's contact info and started to draft her a text when he realized that a text wasn't going to cut it. Logan dropped his head to the table and banged it a few times.

"Hey, you're going to dent the table with that hard head of yours," Veronica teased.

"I have to call my dad. Hopefully he hasn't heard about this yet. He's going to be pissed. He has a movie premiering in a couple of weeks." Logan stood up and decided to try out Veronica's favorite spot to use the phone. First he texted the other trustees to let them know what was going on and that he was getting out in front of it, and then he called Aaron.

"Hello, Son. I hear you're getting famous in your own right." Aaron was using his Hollywood dad voice. He didn't sound all that angry, which surprised the hell out of Logan.

"I guess you've seen it, then. I would have called sooner, but I actually just found out about ten minutes ago." Logan rubbed his forehead, waiting for the other shoe to drop. There was no way that Aaron wasn't mad about this.

"I have to say, I was pretty impressed. When Parker showed it to me earlier, I was expecting to see some little fuck-boy…color me shocked when, instead, you're banging a tight little blonde. She's not to my taste, personally, but what she lacks in _assets_ she more than made up for in enthusiasm."

Logan felt his blood start to boil. "Don't talk about her like that."

"She's that little reporter you saved from a stalker earlier this year, right?"

"Yes, Veronica." Logan pulled on his hair, trying to keep his temper under control. As much as he wanted to yell at Aaron, he knew it would not be productive at this moment. Not when Logan was going to need Aaron's help to get this sex tape situation under control.

"You were screwing her. That makes more sense. I wish I'd known, I would have had you bring her to that premiere you managed to weasel your way out of." Aaron sounded thoughtful, "Are you still in touch with her? I've got a smallish premiere in San Francisco coming up."

Logan was torn. One way or another, he was eventually going to have to tell Aaron about the depth of his relationship with Veronica. But he'd wanted to put it off for as long as possible; Aaron had a way of tainting everything that he touched, and Logan didn't want him anywhere near his and Veronica's relationship.

Logan sighed, accepting that there wasn't any way to get around it. "We live together."

"Oh, ho ho, you live together. Son, I've never been happier to hear those words: you have a live-in girlfriend."

Logan could practically hear the wheels turning in Aaron's head. Aaron had been furious, years before, when Logan had refused to play his games any longer. Logan had worked hard to maintain that distance and to minimize their relationship. But he could tell that Aaron saw this as a way back into his son's life. _I was so close; just a few more months and I would have been able to completely cut all ties with the bastard_.

"It's a little younger than I would have liked for you…ah hell, what do I know? Your mother and I got married when we were your age," Aaron said jovially.

"I didn't call to talk about Mom," Logan said, his voice sounding strained even to him; he looked up and saw Veronica and Ratner watching him from the kitchen. He offered them a tight smile, and then turned to face away from them so that they wouldn't be able to see his face for the rest of the conversation—both of them were far too perceptive.

Aaron cleared his throat. "Of course not. Well, I take it from your tone you aren't as pleased about this little sex tape as I am." Aaron chuckled.

"No. I was hoping your 'team' could help us downplay it. We've spoken to the police up here, and they're working to get it all pulled off the internet, but…"

"Yes, it can be rather difficult once it's out there. Okay, Parker is supposed to be back here in an hour. I'll call Harvey and see what he can do."

"Thank you. And what do you want from me in exchange for you doing this?" Logan asked, resigned to his fate.

"Oh Logan, why don't we discuss that later. Right now we'll focus on taking care of all this. But I do so look forward to meeting Veronica." Aaron's voice purred over the 'V', sending chills up Logan's spine.

"Right, well, I'm sure we'll speak later," Logan replied, trying to keep his voice sounding confident when it was anything but.

"Yes, yes we will." Then the line cut out.

The next few hours were spent organizing Operation Damage Control, which primarily involved phone calls between lawyers, the police, and the Aaron Echolls publicity machine. At the end of it all, everyone was doing their best to deal with the situation, but their best didn't change the fact that the stupid video had already been seen by hundreds of thousands of people. And more saw it every minute it was still out there.

Logan was so mad. This was supposed to be a big day for Veronica, and instead she was stuck being the object of a 'Logan Echolls sex tape'. He couldn't believe people gave a crap about him just because he was the son of someone famous. It wasn't like Logan did anything to warrant the attention beyond being Aaron's son. And more than that, the timing struck him as odd. _Why wait so long to release the tape?_ _Why would anyone release the tape today? If it is about me, the timing makes no sense._

"Ratner, what do you think about the timing of this whole thing?" Logan asked.

Ratner smiled at Logan like he was proud of him. "I've been wondering that myself. I'd say the timing suggests that this is more about Veronica than you. Of course, it's a non-starter without you, but it has very little impact on you beyond being an irritation. For Veronica, on the other hand, it's more serious. Now everyone is talking about her role in the tape rather than that she uncovered corruption." He turned to Veronica. "Have you received any requests for your evidence?"

"Yeah, hours ago. We handed it all over, of course. I even had a few requests for interviews on the local channels. Of course, all but one of those has cancelled since," Veronica replied sadly.

"Hey, this will all blow over. We'll probably even be able to joke about it…eventually." Logan tried to comfort her.

Ratner stared out at the bay, his expression very serious. Not wanting to disturb him, Logan gently pulled Veronica out of her chair and led her back to their office.

"What?" she asked hesitantly.

Logan pulled her in close and kissed her softly. When he felt her relax, he deepened the kiss but kept it undemanding.

She broke the kiss a little out of breath. "Oh, that."

"Yeah, that. And I thought Ratner might need a few minutes. Not to mention, we haven't had a chance to be alone since the shit hit the fan." Logan pushed his hand through his hair. "I am so sorry. Everything has been so quiet the last couple months. No more Piz—at least until the trial—it was just us, and now…"

"This isn't your fault. This is whoever stole the evidence's fault. It had to be a cop." She looked thoughtful.

"There wouldn't be an audience for a sex tape of you without me," he replied, feeling forlorn _. Here's yet one more thing Logan Echolls has brought upon someone he loves._

"Hey! I resent that. I look pornstar-tastic on that video," Veronica snarked. "How much you wanna bet it was that slimy rookie I got into trouble for sexual harassment?"

Logan chuckled, "You were pretty hot; I wouldn't mind having a copy for the home collection. But I hate that so many people have seen something that never should have been recorded in the first place. I'm going to sue the shit out of the SFPD. Saitou's looking into it, right?"

"Yeah, he promised he'd get to the bottom of it. He didn't think it should have been kept in evidence either."

Ratner came into the office with a big smile on his face. "All right, lovebirds. I have an idea."

* * *

Veronica impatiently picked at a slice of takeout pizza and watched Logan play with the label of the bottle of beer sitting in front of him.

"So how do you know our mystery guest?" Logan asked, pulling the label off fully intact. It was a neat trick.

"How do I know him? Through somewhat unsavory channels, I'm afraid. And don't let him fool you; he's no bumbling idiot, but he's fickle as all hell. His services come at a price; large sums of money tend to be required to keep him honest."

Veronica looked up at that. "So we're trusting intel from someone who has a price tag? Someone whose loyalty can be sold to the highest bidder?"

"We've gotta take it where we can get it. Anyway, the Admiral has plenty of money, and Vinnie's resourcefulness more than makes up for his sliminess. The guy is plugged into every major crime family on the west coast. And all of it is under the guise of a completely legal business. He's a P.I." Jeff chuckled.

Veronica turned to see Logan face-palm. "Her dad's a P.I., Ratner."

Jeff at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Right, I forgot. Well, I am fairly certain your father is not of the ilk that Vinnie is."

"You never did say how you know him," Veronica pushed.

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." At Veronica's clear lack of amusement, he continued. "It's classified, and honestly not as interesting as that makes it sound—I promise."

Jeff's promise was followed by a knock on the door. Veronica let Logan get it. A few moments later, a smarmy eighties-reject pranced into the room ahead of Logan.

"Nice digs you got here." His eyes landed on Veronica. "Vavavoom. You're tastier lookin' in person than in that video, VMars."

Veronica thought she might throw-up right then and there, and Logan looked murderous.

"Vinnie Van Lowe. It gives me no pleasure whatsoever to introduce you to Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars. And Vinnie, unless you want to see Logan's kick boxing skills in action, I suggest you stop eye-fucking his girlfriend," Jeff said, a friendly smile never leaving his face.

Vinnie started to laugh. "Just getting the lay of the land, my man. Got it—Echolls is a hot-head and Mars, here, looks ready to poison me or throw-up on me—neither of which I'm interested in, by the way."

Veronica watched as Van Lowe's entire demeanor changed from obnoxiously-goofy playboy to completely serious. He took a seat at the table and rejected the beer that Jeff offered him. She couldn't help the grin that took the place of her nausea.

"All right, kids, here's what I know so far. You, my dear, are an excellent writer and pretty good investigative journalist." He waved his hand at Veronica. "Maybe a little too good or maybe just the right amount, I'm still working that out. I have a contact within the Sorokin family and I think we may need to play a little game of guess who. Now you, Mr. Echolls—I think this is just a case of unfortunate relations where you're concerned."

This just further confirmed what Jeff had expressed earlier: the sex tape was the chosen medium only because it would put up the biggest smoke screen. If Logan hadn't been the son of Aaron Echolls, the person behind this would have picked something else to use as a distraction. But instead, whomever it was had been handed the perfect way to move everyone's attention away from the huge corruption ring that Veronica had uncovered.

"But this changes nothing. Nothing!" Veronica could feel her temper getting the better of her. Logan's hand on her knee helped to ground her and brought her focus back to the conversation at hand. "The agents have been exposed. Several major distribution networks have been identified. I heard from my boss earlier that there have already been some arrests. Discrediting me didn't stop any of this from happening."

"Actually," Jeff interjected, "we don't think this was about discrediting you so much as distracting everyone—"

"Think about it," Vinnie interrupted. "If you weren't the talk of the town, what or who would be? Not a couple of lame ICE and ATF agents, I can tell you that."

Veronica thought about this for a moment, "The Sorokins…but I never could get any conclusive evidence specifically linking them to any of it. None of the direct family members will be charged with any crimes."

"No, but you did get two of their cousins. I'm betting you didn't get them through your primary source. You had a second informant. Am I right?" Vinnie asked with glee.

He was right. She did have a second source that she'd never mentioned in any of her notes or met with directly after a brief introduction. They'd instead used carefully planned data exchanges and a couple of phone calls on untraceable prepaid cell phones. Not even Logan knew about him. "No, I got all the names from the same source." Vinnie gave her a suspicious look but didn't comment further.

"So a sex tape of Aaron Echolls' son with the _intrepid_ reporter keeps the media busy with that rather than looking more closely at the Sorokins. Wow, they really are bastards, aren't they?" Logan said, sounding exasperated.

"It doesn't hurt that you two put on one hell of a performance, either. Seriously, I've got twenty years on you kid, and I was impressed."

"Um…thanks."

"No, _thank you_." Vinnie smirked before reaching down for the bag he'd set by his feet when he'd taken his seat. He pulled out a smart phone and messed with it for a few seconds before extending it to Veronica. "Which one was your source?"

Veronica just stared at him. There was no way that he could have known who her primary source was; she was a low-level guy's girlfriend who had a good ear and babysat one of the higher-up's daughters. But, Veronica decided to play the game. She accepted the phone and started swiping through the photos. Only a few photos went by before Veronica saw Catherine. She looked a little different, _more Dolce, less Target_ , Veronica thought, giving Target a French pronunciation in her mind. Her pause gave Jeff an opening; he nabbed the phone before Vinnie got the chance.

"This was your source? Yelena Sukarenko!" Jeff screeched.

"What? No! That woman's name is Catherine Lenova. She's the girlfriend of one of the guys who works at the dock. We did a background check and confirmed her identity. Wait Sukarenko. As in the Russian mob in Chicago?" It was Veronica's turn to face-palm. She'd been set up.

* * *

Before Vinnie left, Logan had given him a hefty retainer with the promise of more to come. "Don't worry, kid. No need for the Vinnie Special here. You've got plenty to keep me happy, and you're in with my boy Ratner. I'll be in touch as soon as I have more to share." He winked.

Ratner left just a few minutes later, leaving Logan and Veronica alone at last. Logan had immediately shut off the landline and turned their cell phones to silent.

"I should probably call and warn my dad to stay away from the internet," Veronica said, collapsing onto the couch.

"It'll keep until morning. It's almost midnight, and they're probably already in bed. He'd have called if he already knew," Logan said, settling on the couch next to her.

"You're probably right. So what do we do now? My boss told me to take a few days and to handle all the inquires from home, though most of it is already taken care of."

"Now? Now, I think we kick back, maybe watch an episode of The Daily Show. He almost never covers things that have anything to do with my dad," Logan said hopefully.

"Sure. I could use some political satire," she said, snuggling into his side.

Twenty-two minutes and a 'Moment of Zen' later Veronica was snuffling softly against Logan's side. Logan pushed some stray hairs out of her face and watched her sleep. She looked peaceful and relaxed. Being careful to not wake her, Logan carried her back to their bedroom and put her to bed.

Logan considered getting into bed with her, but he wasn't ready to sleep yet. He made his way down to their home-gym and tied on some boxing gloves. Maybe a quick workout would help him relax.

He was about halfway through his usual routine when he felt someone watching him. He turned to find Veronica standing in the doorway, chewing on her thumbnail.

"I woke up alone," she said, walking down the two stairs into the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just had too much pent up energy to sleep. I didn't mean to leave you alone," Logan replied hesitantly, not quite sure what to make of the look Veronica was giving him.

She hadn't stopped walking once she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, and now she stood directly in front of him. She reached out and began untying Logan's gloves, pulling one off then going to work on the other.

She hadn't looked up at him since she'd started on his gloves, so Logan tilted her head to look into her eyes. They looked wide and wild, her pupils were huge and black; the color contrasted strongly with the whites.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked, caressing her cheek.

Veronica nodded then abruptly pulled her tank top off over her head and pulled Logan over to the weight bench. Finally recovered from her abruptness, Logan joined in, pulling his sweaty undershirt off and reaching for her sleep shorts. Within a few seconds they were both completely naked, and Veronica was straddling him on the bench.

Veronica had gotten more adventurous in the bedroom recently, and Logan had been concerned that, after the video, she wouldn't feel comfortable continuing any part of their physical relationship. He was pleasantly surprised that, not only was she willing, but she was initiating sex.

Logan wanted to tell her to slow down, but he found that he felt as urgent as she did. He lifted her up and thrust into her in one swift motion, eliciting harsh noises of pleasure from them both. He looked into her eyes to make sure it was okay; she kissed him hard, and it was all the encouragement that Logan needed. He thrust hard into her once more, and then held her off of him and turned on the bench so that her back was facing him in reverse cowgirl. She gripped the vertical part of the bench while Logan wrapped his hands around her hips helping support her while she set a pace that drove Logan wild.

Logan closed his eyes and let his head fall back so lost in the exquisite feel of being enveloped in Veronica that he had no idea how much time had passed. The feel of vibrations from Veronica's inner muscles had Logan hovering on the edge of his orgasm. No longer able to maintain the semi-passive position he had assumed, Logan shifted his hands: one moved to her breasts and began pinching and tweaking her nipples, the other slid between her spread legs to circle her clit, and he finally allowed himself to surge up into her on her downward movement. After a few more deep thrusts, Logan felt Veronica come apart in his hands, and he finally let himself go. He held her tightly, relishing in the feel of her.

"I love you so much," he whispered into her ear before kissing his way down her neck.

"I love you, too."

* * *

Veronica woke the next morning to the sound of their doorbell ringing. Logan was snuggled up against her, his head resting on her chest.

"Babe, someone's at the door," she said softly.

"Mm…go away. Soft." He nuzzled his face between her breasts, placing a few open mouth kisses there.

Veronica couldn't resist giggling. She loved him like this, sleep-muddled and sweet. Waking up with Logan was a special treat; doing anything with Logan was a special treat, really. She brushed her fingers through his hair and started massaging his scalp, pressing a few kisses to the top of his head.

The doorbell rang again and was followed by insistent knocking.

"If it's reporters, I'm going to kill them. Do you still have that Taser?" Logan mumbled into Veronica's chest before pushing himself up and out of the bed.

She battled against the laughter building inside of her, but managed to keep it to just a smirk as she reached into her nightstand and retrieved Mr. Sparky. Holding it out to Logan as he pulled on a pair of jeans and stomped out of the room.

He reappeared less than a minute later. "Put on some clothes, Sweet Cheeks, we've got company!" he called playfully.

 _Must not be reporters, then._ Veronica rolled out of the bed and made her way toward the bathroom, only to be pounced on by a bouncing Logan.

"Watch it, Tigger," she teased.

"If I'm Tigger then you're Piglet. Ooo, I think I like that. My cute little pink Piglet." He peppered kisses all over her face and neck before bouncing back out of the room.

"Who's here that you're so excited?" Veronica called before she started to brush her teeth, but received no answer.

Veronica quickly dressed in jeans and a button down, pulling her hair up into as tidy of a ponytail as she could. She walked out to their living room and, seeing it empty, headed to the kitchen. As she came around the corner, she saw Logan speaking with a man probably close to the same age as her father. A tall man with dark hair and a tan. He looked distinguished in tailored navy suit pants and a crisp pale blue dress shirt, no tie, unbuttoned at the top. He looked expensive and relaxed.

Logan turned as she padded into the room. "Veronica, I want you to meet my surrogate dad. This is Jake Kane." Veronica felt her mouth pop open and froze in place. Logan pulled her to him and she quickly regained control of her body.

"Mr. Kane. It's…wow, it's a pleasure to meet you. Logan's told me a lot about you." Veronica was working hard to keep from appearing as awestruck as she felt, when she realized that Jake Kane looked more familiar than she'd been expecting.

"Jake is fine, Veronica. It's very nice to finally meet you as well." His voice was warm, but his eyes held a hostility that didn't comport with his tone, and that made him look even more familiar. In fact, now she was certain they had met before.

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" Veronica blurted out before she could stop herself.

"I can't imagine forgetting having met you," Jake replied easily, but again his eyes didn't match his response.

Veronica was surprised that Logan seemed unaffected. Logan, who was usually a very keen observer of others, seemed oblivious to the disconnect between Jake's words and the way he was looking at Veronica. _Or maybe I'm just overreacting?_ She'd had a pretty rough day yesterday, and had only slept fitfully.

She smiled warily and nodded as Logan led them over to the breakfast table.

"So what brings you to our neck of the woods?" Logan asked with a big smile on his face, the events of the previous day seemingly forgotten.

"Actually…your dad called me."

"Oh, I see. This is one of _those_ visits." Logan hung his head and stood. "I'm going to need some coffee. Veronica?" She nodded her head. "Jake?"

"Please. Just black is fine." Jake responded as Logan headed into the kitchen to get the coffee. "So Veronica, I read your article; it was very interesting."

"Interesting? How's that?" Veronica wasn't sure how to take the comment.

"Yes. You took on some rather dangerous individuals. Did you not think they would retaliate?"

"Excuse me?" Veronica asked as Logan returned with several cups of coffee.

"So let's get this over with. What did dear old dad want you to say to me?" Logan asked, resuming his seat next to Veronica.

"Actually, I'm here to offer my services, so-to-speak. I know about the leaked evidence video, and that you fought to have it destroyed. I can assure you that it is blocked from being viewed on any site using Kane Software's programing. Outside of that, I can't do much, but we control quite a lot."

"You have no idea what that means to us," Logan said, his voice full of emotion.

"Also, if you want to get out of town for a few days, the resort by my Napa Valley house has very private cottages that might make for a good place to lay low until this all dies down," Jake offered and handed Logan a business card. "The residence's manager; she's a close friend."

Logan nodded. "We'll think about it. Thank you."

Jake stood. "I really should be going. Thank you for the coffee, and please do consider coming inland for a few days. I live less than half a mile from Meadowood; we could all have dinner together."

Logan stood and went to shake Jake's hand, which ended up being a one-armed hug. "Thank you. How long will you be up?"

"Oh, at least a few weeks. Promise you'll come up for at least one night before I leave."

Veronica could see Logan nod as they walked to the front door. Once they were out of sight, Veronica felt her pulse slow back down to normal and some of the tension drain from her shoulders. It had to be all the stress.

While Veronica was waiting for Logan to return, her phone chirped with a new email.

 _To: vmars at parlour . media  
_ _From: vvl at lowedown . vvl_

 _Hey VMars,_

 _Your source is having dinner with one of the Sorokin nephews tonight at Mazzat at 8:00 p.m. Be there or be square._

 _\- VVL_

The guy was a creeper, but Jeff was right. Vinnie seemed to have access to the information they needed. Logan came back in the room and sat next to Veronica again.

"What's that?" he asked, and then sipped the remains of his coffee.

"Vinnie. He says my source, Catherine…er, Yelena, will be at Mazzat tonight at eight. How do you feel about Lebanese food?"

* * *

Logan, Veronica, Jeff and Mac followed their server to a table centrally located in Mazzat's main room. As Logan looked around, he spotted Van Lowe first. Vinnie was sitting at a table in a corner. Unlike the previous day, he'd dressed to blend. Next, Logan saw one of the guys who had been on Veronica's security detail, Samson, with another guy that Logan didn't recognize.

"Wow, Ratner, how much is this costing me?" Logan snarked.

"They volunteered. Didn't like the way this all went down. Well, Van Lowe is charging, but that'll come out of the retainer." Ratner subtly nodded to the two men just a few tables down from their own.

"I'm not so sure this is a good idea," Mac said from across the table. "Didn't you say this woman pretended to be someone she wasn't, fed you information, and is a mob daughter?"

"Well, sure, but the information wasn't inaccurate, so much as just incomplete. And whoever did her alias deserves a medal. The background check we ran didn't set off any alarms. I'm guessing it's one of the perks of having those kinds of resources. And mob daughter, shmob-daughter, I could take her." Veronica shadowboxed.

"Of course you could, Bobcat." Logan smirked. She probably could.

"But that isn't the point," Ratner interjected. "We're here to see what, if anything, they do when they see you. We need to start piecing together their endgame. Was this just pure distraction, or do they have a deeper plan?"

Logan looked at Veronica, her eyes were unfocused, and her cheeks had turned a little pinker than normal. "Bobcat, is there anything you want to tell us?"

Veronica's gaze focused back on them. "What? Um…no. Not that I can think of."

Logan continued to watch her closely. He was pretty sure she had just lied, but he couldn't be certain. She'd been acting a bit skittish since the previous day, and even more so since she'd received that email from Van Lowe.

"There she is," Veronica said under her breath, her head tilting toward a table just out of Logan's line of sight.

The server arrived to take drink orders before Logan got a chance to respond. He could feel his agitation rising and had to work very hard to maintain his composure. He wanted to rage and break things but he wasn't an out of control teenager anymore. So instead he glared at the menu until Veronica's hand squeezed his knee.

"You look ready to pummel someone. Relax, this is just a normal night out with Jeff and Mac," she said softly and kissed him on the cheek. Then louder, "I think we should share the Mezza for two, or four if you two are game."

Mac smiled but shook her head. "Vegetarian, remember?"

Logan looked at the vegetarian Mezza option. It looked tasty. "That's fine. Us carnivores can add some side orders?" he asked Veronica and Ratner who both nodded in agreement.

Throughout their meal, Logan tried to surreptitiously steal glances at Catherine/Yelena and her date, but apparently he wasn't as subtle as he thought, because the somewhat-built blonde guy who'd been with Yelena approached their table. Of course he'd waited until Ratner had left to use the bathroom.

"Have you got a problem, man?" The blonde approached Logan, and then turned to look at the rest of the table.

"Oh, hello. I thought I recognized your boy here." He held his hand out to Veronica. "I'm Gorya; my friends call me Gory."

Veronica glared at his outstretched hand. "I think you already know who I am. Your date and I are well acquainted."

"You must be mistaken." Gory smirked and then leered at Veronica. "But you…I'm very familiar with you. I've gotta say you do have nice pom-poms. I'll give you that." He turned to Logan. "And that thing you did about fifteen minutes in," he kissed his fingers, " _Magnifique._ I really should be thanking you both for the tremendous show." He lowered his voice. "Those cousins of mine that you got were lowlifes, anyway. Papa and Uncle Lev weren't happy; they'd love to know how you found out about them, but I say: 'good riddance'." Gory turned his back and headed to his table.

Logan had had enough. He stood, knocking over his chair, and took a few big steps before he wrapped his arms around Gory's middle. Logan threw him across a vacant table and rushed to meet him on the other side as Gory tried to stand. Logan grounded his weight and shot a right hook into the guy's left cheekbone, sending him to the ground. It took two more solid punches and a turned-over plate of food before Gory stopped trying to get up.

"Echolls, you're gonna die," Gory mumbled over his bloody mouth.

"Yeah, some day. You wanna see your friend apologize?" He turned to find a startled, though he'd swear also aroused, Veronica, standing a few feet away.

"Naw, I'm good. But maybe we should get out of here." Veronica pointed to a couple of bouncer-looking guys approaching from the kitchen.

Samson, the guy Logan didn't recognize, and Ratner blocked the men. Logan pulled out a few hundreds and tossed them on the table; confident that would cover their bill and any damage he might have caused. "Sorry folks, show's over," he called as several flashes went off.

He wrapped his arm around Veronica and led her to the exit.

"God, Logan, what were you thinking? That guy is connected—connected, connected!"

Logan smiled excitedly and wiped a trickle of blood off his lip. "Oh babe, you know me; I'm a lover and a fighter."

* * *

A/N: Thank you so much to all of you reading this story! I am in awe of all the follows/subscriptions and favorites. Seriously amazing :) you all are the best. I want to thank Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha for all the hard beta work they've been doing! You're both awesome!

I hope you all enjoyed our latest additions. I've been just dying to add Vinnie to the mix and was really excited when I realized he fit here. In case you were wondering Meadowood and Mazzat are real places. Also Vinnie's email sign off should have a heart but FF doesn't want to let me put it there if you want to see the email formatted properly hop over to AO3


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry for the delay on this. I hit a major plot issue and then had a few more minor issues that had to be dealt with before we could move forward. Thank you for your patience and I hope you like it :)

* * *

After escaping the restaurant, Ratner, Veronica, Logan and Mac returned to Veronica and Logan's house and sat around the breakfast table. "Vinnie was right, wasn't he? You have a second source," Ratner said.

Veronica avoided eye contact and swirled her glass of wine.

"Come on, Veronica. What's going on? What aren't you telling us?" Logan pushed.

"Ratner, you still do regular sweeps of our place, right?" Veronica asked.

"Sure, and Mac just did an update on all your electronics."

Veronica nodded and took a deep sip of her wine. "This can't leave this room." Everyone nodded. "I do have another source; he's undercover for the federal version of internal affairs. He gave me more names. He was hoping that my article would shake things up enough to reveal more of their operation." Veronica reached over for Logan's hand. "You know about the tax evasion and import of illegal goods. What you don't know is that they are also suspected of being a part of a larger network of human traffickers. That's what my other source was hoping to discover more about. The plan is—was, anyway—that he would continue to feed me information, and over the next few months I would put together another article while he built his case."

Ratner's eyes narrowed. "That is against protocol. He shouldn't have been speaking to you at all."

Veronica nodded. "He said as much. He also said he was concerned that there were people within the ATF, customs, maybe even the Justice Department who were on the take. He didn't want to risk nothing being done."

Logan was nervously bouncing his leg and rubbing her hand. Mac looked lost at sea, and Ratner had on his professional face, serious and thoughtful. Veronica leaned into Logan and waited for Ratner's assessment.

"Okay, I think we need a new plan. They must not know you're onto more than what was in the article. If they did, I don't think we'd all be sitting here so comfortably. But from what Gorya said, they are curious about how you found the cousins. Your source was obviously playing it safe if he only gave you the lowest of the low in the family."

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, the two cousins mostly seem to have been courier types from what I could tell. They arranged and sometimes drove the trucks that moved the goods out of the port before inspections. I would guess that they were in contact with the Lambs though I never found proof of it, though I didn't really try. My source said he'd divulge just enough to shake things up and he did, so I didn't pursue it further."

"You need a plausible alternative narrative for how you found these guys." Ratner said, a concerned expression on his face.

"Duh." Everyone turned disbelieving looks at her. "I already have one. It's what I gave out in all the evidence packets to the different agencies. I watched a deal go down and saw the two cousins. I took pictures and identified them that way." Veronica smiled.

Logan looked upset. "You were doing surveillance by yourself?"

Veronica reached up and touched his cheek. "Of course not. I wasn't the one doing the surveillance, my source was; he just passed the photos on to me. But there is no way for them to know the difference."

"Where were you when the pictures were actually taken?" Mac asked, surprising them all when she spoke up for the first time since they'd sat down.

"Um…" Veronica thought hard and pulled out her cell phone to check dates. "I'm pretty sure we were here at home. I guess we could check our phone records and bank accounts to make sure."

"You should. Right now, in case we need to come up with something else," Mac pushed.

Veronica quickly pulled up the appropriate records. "No incoming or outgoing calls for me."

"It doesn't look like we ordered takeout that night," Logan confirmed. "We almost never pay with cash, so we probably cooked that night."

Ratner looked satisfied. "All right, I think that'll work. Veronica, can you explain again how you found out about the ICE and ATF agents? I want to make sure I've got everything straight."

"Well, Catherine…er, Yelena, directed me to them. Originally, she said they were hassling the family and demanding bribes. Though after more investigating, turns out, they were doing a lot more than that. It was more like they were on the payroll. I accepted that she didn't realize how involved in the organization they were because of who I thought she was. But in light of who she really is, clearly the Sorokins wanted rid of them." Veronica pulled her tablet out of her bag and started searching for the files she had on them.

Logan leaned over her shoulder, "So your planted source fed them to you? And your government source gave you the cousins?" Veronica nodded absently, "Did he know you would be exposing the Lambs?" Logan asked.

Veronica had finally found the file she wanted, "Um…no I don't think so. He didn't preview the article and didn't ask me many questions about Catherine, he seemed to know everything already." She set the tablet out showing both of the Lamb's basic bio information.

 **Don Lamb, 37 – ATF 13 years, assigned to Port of San Francisco 5 years**

 **Dan Lamb, 35 – ICE 10 years, assigned to Port of San Francisco 8 years**

"Veronica do you think there's a chance that he knew Catherine was a plant?" Ratner asked.

"I wouldn't have thought so but…I really just don't know. I can try to contact him–"

"Not yet. Not until we know more. Come on, Mac, let's go get some sleep. I have a feeling we're all going to have a long day tomorrow."

"Why?" Mac asked getting up from the table.

Logan gave her a grim smile. "Because I went all Rocky on that guy. When it hits the tabloids and they identify all of us, you are going to start getting hounded by the media, too. Sorry. I shouldn't have hit him."

"Eh, he deserved it," Mac replied and followed Jeff out of the house.

The door shut and Logan turned upset eyes to Veronica, "I…um…I'm not even sure what I want to say," he sighed unhappily.

Veronica got up and crawled in his lap, hoping the physical contact would help him find his words, or distract him, she didn't really care which direction her actions took them. "It's okay you know." She played with the hair at the back of his neck and pressed a kiss to his temple.

"But it's not okay. These people—the Sorokins—now they're going to think you were the one doing surveillance. What if they come after you with more than a sex tape?"

Veronica leaned her head to rest against Logan's, his arms wrapped tightly around her. She really hadn't considered that and it was a foolish mistake. If there was someone besides the ATF and ICE agents on the Sorokin payroll they now most likely had access to the report Veronica had provided to the FBI.

"Crap," Veronica said vehemently.

"I would have gone with fuck, but yes, my dear."

"I really don't think they are going to be interested in me beyond this, though. I really don't know anything."

"But they don't know that. And now they may think that you do know more. I wish you'd told me, we could have come up with a better way you got the information." Logan rubbed his cheek against Veronica's.

"Like what, hot-shot mystery writer? What would Vivian have done?" Veronica teased.

"Well, _Vivian_ would have said she got them in an anonymous email or maybe a thumb drive arrived by courier. Something like that. So she couldn't have known the source and wasn't responsible for acquiring the raw information."

 _Dammit, that is a good idea._ Veronica sighed, defeated, "You're right, that is a better idea. And I wouldn't have needed anything special to pull off an anonymous email. I could have had Mac send it."

"I'm not saying your idea didn't have merit but maybe in the future you could include me. I'm _very_ good at keeping secrets and unlike your mystery source, I care about you." He punctuated his words with a quick kiss to her cheek. "You don't have to tell me everything but maybe you could just include me when things might be questionable or if you need another rapier wit added into the mix," he teased.

"I'm pretty sure I can do that. But I'm also pretty sure I have enough wit for the both of us."

"There is no such thing as too much wit, Bobcat. No such thing."

* * *

Before heading to bed, Logan had received an email from Parker requesting his presence the next morning. Apparently, she was flying up first thing in the morning along with Harvey and Bernie, Aaron's agent and the family lawyer, respectively.

The meeting went about as well as could be expected. Bernie just shook his head. Harvey ranted.

" _ **Getting in a fight in a public place! You aren't in high school anymore.  
How could you be so stupid, Logan?**_ **"**

Much to Logan's surprise, Parker had actually been the one to keep things from escalating further.

" _ **He looked like a hero standing up for the honor of his love.  
I thought it was romantic. And anyway, Sorokin isn't pressing charges and  
the restaurant found the generous tip you left to be sufficient."**_

Logan chuckled to himself. When he'd checked later, he was sure that he had; he'd left a little more than three hundred dollars on the table.

After returning home and parking in the garage, Logan trudged up the stairs to the main floor. All things considered, this meeting had gone better than the last one with his father had. This time not only had he been able to actually eat the food, but the group had decided that the best thing was for Logan and Veronica to get out of the city…on Aaron's dime. Logan had given Parker Jake's business card and Ratner's contact info to set up security, in return she'd promised to email him everything they'd need within the hour.

Entering the living room, Logan's ears were assaulted by the sound of 90's pop. Veronica and Mariah Carey were belting out 'Fantasy'. Logan slipped off his shoes, and as stealthily as possible, followed the sound of Veronica's voice.

He found her in the kitchen wearing a pair of his boxers and a bright pink tank top. She was shaking her hips to the beat of the music while she rolled something through a bowl and then placed it on a cookie sheet. _She's baking._ Logan grinned and continued to watch her for a few more moments before he approached her from behind. When he reached her, he took hold of her hips and started to dance along with her.

" _I'm in heaven, with my girlfriend…"_ he sang softly into her ear with his own little twist on the lyrics.

The song ended, and Logan reached into his pocket and took control of the house's surround sound to turn the volume down. "So, beautiful girlfriend. Just what is it you're doing?"

Veronica smiled up at him. "Baking snickerdoodles." She held a bit of cinnamon and sugar coated dough up to his mouth.

He greedily stole the dough off her finger and then reached behind her for another bite, which earned him a smack on his hand.

"You won't get any if you keep that up, mister," she scolded, her hands on her hips and her eyes full of laughter.

"Any? Hmmm…I don't believe you," Logan purred into her ear. Veronica shifted so that her neck was easily accessible to his lips, and Logan dove in to take advantage. "Yum, you're all the sugar I need." He sucked on her pulse as it fluttered rapidly. Just as he reached up to cup one of her breasts, a loud timer went off.

Veronica giggled and pulled out of Logan's arms. "Tease!" Logan called as she skipped over to pull a tray of cookies out of the oven.

"Don't worry, you're the only one allowed to eat my cookie." She winked at him. Logan was ready to take that as an invitation to continue what they'd started, but Veronica held up her hand. "Before we get distracted, tell me how the meeting went. I had to turn my cell off completely after I called to fill dad and Alicia in on yesterday's goings-on."

Logan swallowed. "Right. How much does your dad hate me now? Am I still welcome in their home for Thanksgiving?"

"Of course. Dad wasn't pleased, but Alicia insisted that he isn't mad at us so much as at Piz and the SFPD. He actually seemed to calm down when I told him you were already working on a lawsuit against them."

Logan smiled conspiratorially; he was going to make sure that every person complicit in the leaking of that video was fired. And then he was planning to sue each of them for every penny they had. Logan didn't like to think of himself as litigious, but these were special circumstances.

"You're avoiding telling me how your meeting went." She frowned at him. "Was it really that bad?"

Logan shook his head. "No, it went fine. We'll be taking Jake up on his offer. At least for the next few days, that is. Why don't you call your boss and make sure that it will be okay to leave town for a few days. If there's a problem, we'll need to make other arrangements. Apparently Aaron will be footing the bill, so I was thinking we'd spend the next week in St. Helena."

Veronica looked at him, confused.

"That's the name of the town where Jake's house and that resort are; it's just a bit north of Napa. And, it just so happens to be the home of the roadside burger place you insisted that I prove exists."

Her demeanor immediately changed. "Gott's is there?"

"Yes, ma'am. And, if memory serves, it's less than five minutes from where we'll be staying."

"Sold! When do we leave?" Veronica asked, prepping the next cookie sheet to go in the oven.

Logan laughed at her enthusiasm. "Late this afternoon. I already invited Mac and Ratner. I have a feeling we're going to be spending a decent amount of time doing research, and I thought it might be handy to have a tech genius and a bodyguard/criminal mastermind with us. On that note, Ratner is already working with Parker to, how did he put it? Keep our visibility low." Logan smiled. "And if this all dies down more quickly than anticipated, we have friends to go do stuff with, paranoid friends, but friends none-the-less."

Veronica popped the cookie sheet she'd just loaded into the oven and came back around the island. "Please tell me the walls at this place are thick and that there's room service."

"We'll have one of their Lodges, it has four bedrooms that are actually these little bungalows and are separate from the main living space. There _is_ room service, but we'll also have a full sized kitchen." Logan wrapped his arms around Veronica's waist and pulled her closer so he could kiss her on the nose. "Mmm…cinnamon." He licked his lips and leaned in to steal a kiss when the doorbell rang.

"What's the deal!?" Veronica exclaimed. She gave him a rushed kiss, grabbed her stun gun off the kitchen island and headed for the front door. "I'm going to give who ever this is a taste of Mr. Sparky!"

Logan chuckled at her anger. She was a ferocious little bobcat. He then followed behind her to make sure she didn't actually tase anyone.

As Logan reached the door, he found Veronica pulling Heather through it as two paparazzi snapped pictures from across the street.

"Heather! What brings you to our humble abode?" Logan asked, holding his hand out for her coat.

"Well, I tried to call, but I'm guessing you have all the phones shut off."

"You guessed correctly," Veronica confirmed, heading back to the kitchen.

Heather held out a tabloid that had a picture of Logan just moments before he'd landed a punch in Gory Sorokin's face. Her finger pointed at Gory. "I recognize him."

"Excuse me? You recognize the nephew of the head of the Russian mob's west coast…um…Veronica?" Logan asked, not knowing what to call them.

"Syndicate? Or maybe collective? I'm not sure they have a name for it. It's not like they hand out badges or have retirement plans." Veronica shrugged, putting a few cookies on a plate and holding it out to Heather. "Cookie?"

"Don't mind if I do." Heather smiled. "Anyway, yes I more than recognize him, actually. I've met him a few times with Dick. He's a real assh—jerk. I think he might have been in the same fraternity as Dick, or at least he hung out there a lot," Heather explained, taking a seat at the island and munching her cookie. "These are really good, Veronica."

"Thanks."

Logan tuned out the rest of her and Veronica's conversation about the merits of superfine sugar, and turned his attention to the tabloid Heather had brought.

He really looked at Gory. _Have I met this guy?_ Logan had hung out at Dick's fraternity plenty during college, but the guy did not look familiar at all. He turned to the article inside and skimmed the rehash of how the video of him and Veronica came to exist. There were even a few shots of Logan, Veronica, and Piz being brought out of her apartment. He stared at the one with Piz on a gurney in handcuffs.

"Hey, I recognize him, too," Heather said, pulling the magazine closer to her. "Isn't that Chip Diller?"

Veronica rushed around the island and looked at the picture with them. "Yes, he was one of the first officers on site when Piz held me hostage." Veronica turned her face to Logan.

Logan could tell that she wondered if he recognized Diller as well. He shook his head. "I don't remember him. I remember Veronica complained about him, but that's all. How do you know him?"

"He was definitely in the fraternity with Dick. Mindy hated him. You remember that creepy sex score thing they did every spring?" Logan nodded. "Chip made them take off points because of Mindy's toes."

Logan couldn't help but laugh. Once he finally got himself under control, he explained. "Dick married Heather's sister Melinda during a drunken weekend in Vegas and then decided he wanted to divorce her because he thought her toes were weird. As you can imagine, it's been a bit of a sore subject for Mindy every since."

Even Veronica laughed at that. "But what was the scoring thing? Some fraternity game?"

Logan was certain his face reflected the same disgust as Heather's. "Yeah, fifty points for a blonde, fifty more if it's natural. You get it?"

Veronica nodded. "Please tell me you never played this game."

"Never. They actually had a sister sorority that played the game, too. Did you know that being famous was worth an extra hundred points?" Logan answered sarcastically, flinching at the memory of being shown the scoreboard and seeing his _value_. He felt a little sick when he thought back on the night he'd learned about that little gem. Veronica's arm wrapped around his waist, and her cheek rested against his bicep. She was so great at offering support and comfort right when he needed it. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Thank you," he whispered against her silky hair and she squeezed him tighter.

In just a few months, and a lot of conversations, Veronica really had gotten good at spotting his emotional baggage. At the top of that list was pretty much anything to do with his dad, especially when people treated him a certain way—good or bad—just because of who Aaron was. Logan had tried therapy a few years back, but one of the office staff had photocopied his file and sold it. Luckily, it had been after only two sessions, and they'd only gotten as far as Logan's decision to move to San Francisco for a new start. It was one of the few times that he was truly glad he didn't open up easily. The therapist had apologized, refunded his money, and fired the person responsible. It was the best he could have hoped for under the circumstances.

"So you really don't remember Chip? He was older than you and Dick, but he left a lasting impression in my mind." Heather's words brought Logan back to the present.

"I really don't remember him. Before we found out about some issues with Veronica's source, she suggested Diller could have been behind leaking the video. And now you're telling us that both he and this Gory guy know Dick?"

Heather nodded.

"Seems like too much to be a coincidence," Veronica said, still holding him tightly.

"Dick is kind of a douche, but I trust him implicitly in regard to my privacy." Heather nodded her agreement. "But I agree that, if Dick knows them both, they may know each other. If we can link them together more than circumstantially, we may be able to prove Diller is the one who took the video," Logan said. "Thank you Heather. This could end up being very helpful. I should probably go call Dick and see what I can find out from him. You're welcome to stay." He smiled at her while heading back to the office to call Dick.

"Hey man! Heard you're going to be up by Jake's." Dick had a tendency to just jump into conversations when he answered the phone.

"Hi, Dick. How do you know that? Please don't tell me it was on TMZ." Logan groaned; if it was, they'd have to change plans.

"Naw, ran into your dad. Got me thinking."

"I hope that didn't hurt too much."

"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I was thinking I'd come up while you're there. We could see if there are any rich divorcees looking for a good time."

"Um…you know I'm with Veronica; I'm not exactly shopping for a sugar mama. But if you want to come up, I'd really like you to meet her. Our place for the week has extra rooms."

"Right, Ver-on-i-ca. Sure. I'd like to meet your lady friend whom I'm sure I'll approve of whole-heartedly and without reservation."

"Gee thanks, Dick. Hey, you remember a guy named Chip Diller?" Logan asked.

"Sure, he was a Pi Sig with me…year or two ahead I think."

"Did he hang around with a guy named Gorya Sorokin?"

"Gory? Maybe. I think they might have been the same year, but Gory wasn't one of the brothers; he just liked to party with us."

"Any chance you'd have some pictures of them together?"

"Wow, that's a weird request. If they partied together at all then there are pics. I can bring my laptop and we can check; I've got all five years of house party pics saved."

"That'd be great. I'd really appreciate it."

"Anything for you, Brother. Even if it _is_ weird," he added under his breath. "I'll probably see you tomorrow night." And with that, the line disconnected. Dick was as abrupt with his sign offs as his greetings.

* * *

"So, where are we going again?" Mac asked from the backseat of the rented SUV as they crossed over a river and some kind of marsh and then drove past the strangest cows she'd ever seen—they looked like brown and white Oreos.

"I rented out the Hillside Terrace Lodge at Meadowood for the next week. St. Helena is a little less crowded than Napa. And we can get a level of privacy and security there that will be much more pleasant for all of us. Trust me," Logan replied as he navigated the Sunday evening traffic heading inland from the bay.

Mac pulled out her replacement phone, Jeff had insisted they all leave their actual phones at home, and Mac had setup call forwarding for all of them. She quickly searched for the place Logan had mentioned. When the web page opened, her jaw dropped and she sputtered a bit before flashing her phone to Jeff, who simply smirked.

Mac had known that Logan was wealthy. Even though she had never been included in the ridiculous 09er scene, she knew that Aaron Echolls made eight figures for each of those crappy action movies he starred in. What didn't make sense to her was how Logan could afford to drop thirty thousand dollars on a weeklong getaway.

Though apparently asking wasn't necessary. Mac met Logan's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Come on, Mac. You've known me since seventh grade. Obviously Daddy is footing the bill. He wants Veronica and I safely cloistered away but close enough that if they need us we can quickly get back to the city. Hell, he'll probably write it off as a business expense for promoting his current crap pile. Um…I think it's a Hair Trigger sequel." Logan made a little gun with his hand and fired it a few times: _pop pop_.

"I've known _who_ you are since seventh grade. I didn't have the displeasure of getting to _know_ you until senior year of high school…" At Logan's look she continued, "I get it, you really aren't that guy, or weren't ever _that_ guy. It just…"

"I know. Sorry. Why don't we focus on all the fun we're going to have? You and Ratner can explore the many and sundry wine-tasting opportunities while Veronica and I stay holed up in our little love nest. On that note, Ratner, when you guys come across good wine, buy lots. I'm getting reimbursed for this whole venture."

Mac couldn't help but laugh at Logan's maniacal smile. She wished she'd known this Logan back when they all still lived in Neptune. He was a pretty great guy. Obnoxious, clearly, but funny and actually pretty sweet.

In the first weeks after their ordeal with Piz, Mac and Logan had had several conversations about their complicated past. They had tiptoed around each other, and finally one night they'd both gotten drunk enough to get it all out there.

 **Flashback**

" _It was your fault!" Mac shrieked at Logan._

" _My fault? How do you figure that? Did I make him do all those things? I'm not the one who hurt him, Mac," Logan answered harshly._

" _You all knew, and you treated him like that. He needed help." Mac felt the first tears slip out of her eyes._

" _Shit Mac. Don't cry. And for the record, I had no idea that Bea…Cass had been..." Mac looked up into Logan's face when she heard his voice tremble on Cassidy's name. His eyes were glassy and haunted. "I didn't know. And I know you don't think much of Dick, but he loved Cassidy. If he'd known, I know he would have done something. The guy's an ass, granted. But, when it comes to the people he loves, he'd rather die than let them down. Trust me, I know." He wiped away the tears that had spilled over onto his cheeks._

 _Mac watched Logan deflate and slide down to the floor to sit cross-legged. Mac walked closer and joined him on the floor; she handed him the bottle of bourbon that had gotten them to this place and they'd begun to share memories of the happier times. As the first light of dawn broke through the night sky, Mac shared her grief over a night she wished she could forget. She found that she wasn't alone; she wasn't the only one who still thought of Cassidy as more than just a killer._

 **End Flashback**

That following morning Mac's head had felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer, and she'd realized that she hadn't known Logan at all. The evildoer bully she'd categorized him as in her mind didn't align with the man who had shed tears for the messed up boy who had been Mac's first boyfriend. It had been a turning point for them.

Mac felt Jeff's hand squeeze her knee. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked softly when she looked up at him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just thinking about shower curtains," Mac answered sadly, meeting Logan's eyes in the rearview mirror. A troubled look flitted across Logan's face, and he let go of the wheel with his right hand and reached his arm over the center console and into the backseat. Mac took his hand immediately and sighed as he rubbed his thumb over her hand for a moment before he met her eyes in the mirror again. With one quick squeeze, he nodded and released her hand.

In all the years since Cassidy had been arrested, Mac had never told anyone about what had happened to her until that night with Logan. It had all just spilled out: the failed attempt at having sex, being left naked and alone with nothing to cover herself with but the shower curtain, the maid finding her the next morning. After her confession, Logan had told her his part in that night. Finding Cassidy on the roof of the Neptune Grand, stopping him from jumping off the roof, and finally turning himself in.

"Are you okay?" Veronica's asked Logan, her voice barely above a whisper. Mac saw Logan nod as he turned the radio up, cutting off any conversation. Veronica's hand reached out and entwined their fingers, Logan then pulling her hand to his lips for a kiss.

At the sight of their intimacy, Mac scooted to the middle seat and leaned into Jeff, who, to his credit, didn't ask any questions. He just wrapped his arm around her and kissed her temple. Mac relaxed into his touch and pushed away the bad memories of home, ready to focus on making some new ones.

* * *

The drive hadn't taken as long as Veronica had expected. Just a little over an hour and a half had passed before they had turned onto a little lane that served as the entrance to Meadowood. Fifteen more minutes and they were settling into their private Hillside Terrace Lodge. Mac and Jeff had headed off to pick which bungalow they wanted to use so Veronica decided to check out the shared living space.

The main room was open and bright with a large stone fireplace as its focus. Just beyond from the fireplace was a full kitchen that could be seen clearly from the seating around the fireplace. Veronica set her things down and decided to see what the stocked kitchen boasted. It was, as promised, fully appointed with granite and gas appliances; it was a smaller version of their kitchen at home. She walked to the refrigerator and inspected its contents. Prominently displayed were two lobster tails, a plate of mini crab cakes, and a cocktail shrimp platter. Veronica slammed the door shut, fury tinting her vision red.

"Hey babe, what'd that poor little refrigerator ever do to you?" Logan teased, his arms coming around her waist.

"Um…nothing, let's go look at the room service menu, or, better yet, why don't you call and see if we can get a table at the restaurant?" Veronica evaded.

"Sure…I think we can probably just walk up to The Grill; it doesn't require a reservation or have a dress code. But I thought they said there were groceries already stocked in here. It's been a long day, but I could just cook in here." Logan shifted her so she was no longer blocking the refrigerator and reached for the door.

Veronica tried to stop him but it was to late.

"Wow, I knew my dad was a sadistic bastard, but I didn't realize he wanted me dead, too," Logan said, stepping away from the shellfish filled refrigerator. "The Grill? Or room service?"

"The Grill. And I'll call the concierge and have them come clear all of this out while we go eat. And wash your hands. All the food was wrapped in plastic, but I'd rather you not get hives if we can help it." Veronica shooed him to the sink. "Do you think this is his payback for you storming out of the restaurant, the sex tape or for punching Gory?"

"Eh, from experience he never needed a reason for any of the things he did, so why start now?"

* * *

After an uneventful dinner with Mac and Ratner, Logan led them back into their home for the next week. Before they'd left, Veronica had explained about Logan's allergy and that the food in the fridge needed to be removed and the kitchen thoroughly cleaned. Truly it was overkill, but Logan loved that she was concerned enough to be that insistent.

He threw himself across the bed and looked out the skylight at the starry night, appreciating how nice the little 'Lodge' was. At the sound of the bathroom door opening, he looked down and saw Veronica walking toward him in one of the resort's plush robes. _I am the luckiest man alive_ , he thought as she climbed onto the bed with him.

Logan sat up as Veronica flung herself back against the pillows. Her skin was a little flushed from the hot shower she'd just taken, and she had a contented look on her face. Logan loved her. Her smart mouth and her mind. He couldn't resist leaning down and kissing her.

The moment their lips met, Veronica's small hands wrapped around his neck and pulled him to her, deepening the kiss. Her moans and little gasps had Logan hard faster than he thought possible. Months of being together and not only was this feeling not getting old, but if anything, being together was getting to be more exciting, more intense…just more.

He reached down and untied the belt of her robe and slipped his hand in, tickling his fingers along the curve of her waist and down to her hips. Logan trailed a line of kisses down her neck until he found himself in the valley between her breasts, he looked up into her eyes, lidded and dark, watching him, and his heart beat faster.

"You're amazing. You know that, right?" Logan whispered.

"I do when you look at me like that." Her small hands cupped his face and he let her guide him back up to her. "Kiss me."

Logan closed the distance until he felt her petal soft lips against his. A little moan opened her mouth to him and he deepened the kiss briefly before pulling back. He brushed his thumb across her cheek and down her jaw. "I love you so much." Then his lips followed the path his thumb had taken, pausing every time Veronica made little noises. After a moment of his attentions, she pushed him away and rose up on her knees, looking down at him.

She moved to him on her knees and swung a leg over his hips while she pushed his shoulder to put him flat on his back. Logan stretched out his arms to take hold of her hips briefly, then pushed the robe off her shoulders. Logan groaned at the sight of her tight pink nipples, and with how she was straddling him he could see that she was wet. When she shifted her position slightly, he could feel how wet she was, too. "Mmmm…I want to touch you."

Veronica leaned down and kissed him, a slow meeting of their lips. Logan rolled them to their sides so that they remained facing each other, and then, with his hand on her ass, pulled her tightly against him. She was soft and firm in all the right places and he wanted nothing more than to be inside of her. Needed to be inside of her.

Logan urged her leg over his hip, and to his surprise, she reached down and fisted his cock, guiding it into her. She felt so good. Logan held her close and kissed her deeply, letting their bodies gently rock into each other.

Pulling away to catch his breath, Logan looked into Veronica's lust-glazed eyes and laughed. "I love you so much."

Her eyes crinkled just a little as she smiled and laughed her reply, "I love you, too." Her laugher caused her walls to flutter against Logan and his laughs turned to moans of pleasure.

"Oh, god, that feels so good." He tenderly cupped her face with one hand and used the other to anchor her hips to his. Logan started rocking his hips, setting a slow but deep roll that had them both panting and clinging to each other. He didn't want to rush, he just wanted to feel her, be in this space with her and she seemed more than willing.

Twice, Logan had to still his body to stop from coming. He used every ounce of self-control in his possession to stop himself until he had calmed before he resumed the languid pace. Finally, he reached a point where he knew there would be no more stopping—not for him, and not for her either.

"I'm getting close babe," Logan panted, trying to keep a rhythm.

"Roll onto your back," Veronica gasped.

"Yes, ma'am." Logan smirked and holding her waist rolled so she was straddling him. "Mmmm…you are so beautiful." He stared up at her now bouncing breasts as she moved up and down his length. His watched mesmerized as she reached down to touch herself; he came at the sight. She continued to touch herself and rock on him until she came a few seconds later, her clinching muscles almost painful on his now too sensitive self.

"Wow," Veronica mumbled, collapsing onto his chest.

Logan carefully pulled out and held her snugly to him. "You can say that again."

"Wow." Her laugher vibrated through Logan's chest, and he joined her until they both calmed. Logan shifted Veronica so she was tucked into his side and they both looked up at the stars through the skylights.

After a few minutes, Logan sat up and smiled sheepishly down at Veronica, who was still gazing, a little unfocused, up at the stars. "I may have done something stupid."

"What kind of stupid? Like get us kicked out of this great resort or like get you kicked out of our bed?" She laughed.

"Actually, it could be both, depending on how it goes." That got Veronica's attention.

"You'd better start explaining."

"So you remember when I called Dick earlier?" She nodded. "Well, he ran into my dad and knew we were going to be staying here and he sort of invited himself along. And then I may have offered one of our extra rooms."

"Well I would have appreciated you letting me know sooner. But Logan, I don't see what the problem is; he's been your friend for most of your life. Why would I have a problem with…oh."

"Now she gets it. I'm pretty sure Mac is going to kill me when he gets here." Logan let out a long breath.

"Why didn't you tell her? They don't get along, right? When was the last time they saw each other?" she asked, little creases showing on her forehead.

"I'm not sure when they saw each other last. It's probably been years. Get along? No, saying they don't get along is an understatement. I'm pretty sure she loathes him, and I have no idea what Dick actually thinks about her since he adamantly refuses to discuss anything Bea-Cassidy related." Logan dragged his hands down his face. "Which brings me to why I didn't tell her. You remember the little break through she and I had?"

"Yeah," Veronica replied softly, taking Logan's hand in hers. The gesture was comforting and steadying.

"She told me she's never really talked to anyone about what happened. I know Dick hasn't either. And honestly, neither had I. She told me some things I had no idea about, and I told her some things she didn't know. I guess I'm hoping, if we can get them in the same place, that maybe they could get some closure, or make peace…something."

"Well, I won't be kicking you out of our bed, but Mac may kill you. And hopefully when Dick gets here the explosion that is sure to occur—"

Logan couldn't help but cringe at her use of the word explosion.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"Cassidy used car bombs," he said simply.

"Shit."

"Yeah." Logan nodded solemnly.

"Okay, clearly, I should have asked more questions of both of you. I only remember you saying he hurt people. Maybe it's time you told me what happened."

Logan took a deep breath, pulled Veronica in close until her head was resting on his chest, and covered them with the heavy down comforter. He kissed her temple and searched for how to begin.

"So Dick was one of my best friends after my family moved to Neptune. Dick is…well, you'll see."

"He couldn't be too bad if you're friends with him, and Heather has said nice things," Veronica said, her fingers tracing patterns on Logan's chest.

"Yeah, well…he is a great guy, or at least he can be; he just takes some getting used to. Anyway, Cassidy was—is his little brother. I don't know why I always want to speak about him in the past tense. Being in jail certainly isn't the same as being dead." Logan let out a frustrated sigh. "We all teased him a lot. He had this terrible nickname. I'm not even sure how it got started, but we all called him Beaver. So they were Dick and Beaver…"

"Ew, really? That has got to be the worst nickname ever."

Logan let his hand drift up and down Veronica's arm. "He hated it, but you know how cruel teenagers can be." She nodded, she still hadn't told Logan much but he knew something bad had happened to her in high school, too. "Turns out the coach was molesting Cassidy the whole time he played little league. None of use knew and we were—God Veronica—we were so horrible to him. We teased him about everything. He's not a big guy and we'd call him a pussy and stuff. I really hate myself for all the things we did to him."

"You didn't know."

"No, but that's not an excuse. I was so caught up in my own misery and pain that I never considered what being cruel to him meant. It doesn't matter that he'd been abused; I shouldn't have treated him like that. The worst part, though, isn't how Dick or any of us treated him, but how their dad treated him. Dick Sr.—'Big Dick'—was just that…a real dick. Just to give you an idea of the kind of bastard this guy was, he and Aaron were real buddy-buddy until Big Dick had to flee to a non-extradition country after he was linked to a real estate ponzi scheme. Think Bernie Madoff but, you know, smaller scale."

"Did anyone have decent parents in Neptune?"

"I don't think so. Maybe Mac? You'd have to ask." He shrugged. "Big Dick tormented Cassidy. And he encouraged us to as well. Big Dick fled the country our senior year, which incidentally worked out well for me since I ended up living in their pool house off and on after I left home. So after he left, Dick and Cassidy were on their own with their step-mommy who I'll tell you about some other time." Logan couldn't help but wince at the memory of that bitch. "At the time, I thought that was when things started going wrong, but in hindsight things had been bad for a long time. A couple of the guys we went to school with were killed in a really weird explosion, and then the mayor, who was the little league coach, was killed by a car bomb on his way home from our graduation—his daughter was in my class. So that night we were having a big party at a hotel and Dick left his phone with me. I checked Dick's texts when they came in and saw that he got this really weird text from Cassidy about wanting to meet on the roof. I didn't see Dick nearby, so I decided to go up there to make sure everything was all right." Logan stopped.

That night had haunted his dreams for a long time: Cassidy standing on the roof with a gun in his hand. The surprised look on his face when he realized that it was Logan who'd joined him on the roof and not Dick.

"I'm not sure what Cassidy originally had in mind, but he ended up breaking down and admitting to killing all those people while—" _pointing a gun at me,_ "—he tried to jump off the roof, but I tackled him and, well, he ended up turning himself in and got some kind of deal. He's still in some rich-person version of psychiatric prison. I'm not really sure what you'd call it. It's not regular prison, but I don't think he can ever leave." He sighed, regretting the loss of not only the people Cassidy had killed but also the loss of Cassidy's life—his innocence. "There's more. Involving Mac. It's not my story to tell, but you may have picked up from our conversation in the car on the way up here that she's about as fucked up as I am about the whole thing."

"Poor Mac," Veronica said sadly.

"I didn't know about Mac's involvement at all at the time. Cassidy was a minor, so everything was kept out of the media. I really think both her and Dick would benefit from hearing each other's experiences, but…"

"Yeah, I get the feeling it's not going to be easy to get them to talk to each other."

"Easy? No. But worth it? I think so. Will you still love me if your best friend hates me after this week?"

"Yes."

* * *

A/N: Thank you to everyone reading and all the new follows/subscriptions. Thanks are due to Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha! Getting this chapter out was tricky and prepping the future one. I really can't thank them enough for all their help getting me through this tricky plot block I've been up against. I think I'm back in business now and the plan is to work out the next few chapters before I post next so it may be just a little bit of a wait.

If you're interested, the places mentioned are real. You can find Meadowood online (see AO3 for links) and there are pictures of the Lodge. If you're in St. Helena The Grill is great for a burger and has a really pretty view of the golf course, croquet lawn, and a little pond. If I can ever find them, I have pictures of me at age 5 or 6 in my croquet whites at Meadowood. If I find any I'll put them on Tumblr ;) In upcoming chapters I'll be including some of my favorite wineries, places to eat, and more.


	5. Chapter 5

Logan woke up with Veronica tucked tightly into his side. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply.

"What do you think you're doing, mister?" Her sleepy voice startled him.

"You caught me. I was sniffing your hair," he replied shyly.

"Do I smell good?"

"The best," he said sincerely, taking another deep breath with his face buried in her hair.

Veronica laughed softly. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Mmm…naked time. Followed by naked shower time. Then maybe some food…and more naked time," Logan teased, pretending to not be serious…but if she'd go along with that plan, he was completely game.

"So what you're saying is: I packed all those clothes for noth—"

Logan pounced on Veronica. "I love you," he said from his position hovering just above her. "And yes, you shouldn't have packed anything. Though I am a fan of some of that lingerie you picked up last time we went shopping." He dipped his hips, teasing his body along hers. "One piece, two piece, red lace, blue lace."

"You don't play fair do you?" she giggled.

"All is fair in love and war…don't you think?"

"I do. In fact—" Veronica's legs wrapped around Logan pulling him in tight. "I think we have a little of both going on right now. And didn't you say you were a fighter?"

"Mmm, sure did, Bobcat," Logan agreed, getting caught up in the sensations of being naked and on top of Veronica.

Two loud knocks on the door to their private bungalow caused Logan to drop so that he was covering all of Veronica with his body.

"Are you two up yet? Get dressed. We have company arriving in ten. And yes, Veronica, there is coffee and a whole breakfast spread." Ratner's voice came though the door.

"Cock block!" Logan shouted and got elbowed in the ribs for his trouble.

* * *

"Were they up?" Mac asked Jeff, her voice hesitant, much to Jeff's surprise. In the last few months Mac had shown herself to be confident, savvy and mischievous, much to Jeff's delight. He was surprised to see her so reticent, especially in regard to Veronica and Logan.

"In a manner of speaking." He smirked. "Logan yelled 'cock block' at me as I was leaving…so I'm pretty sure they were awake but perhaps not ready to leave their room just yet."

"Oh," Mac squeaked as a blush colored her cheeks. "I guess now I understand why Logan wanted detached bedrooms."

"Yes, Mac, that is _precisely_ why. My little Bobcat has one hell of a growl—umph." Veronica elbowed Logan hard in the ribs, much to Ratner's delight.

"Hey, Mars, maybe you should join Logan and I for krav maga. In fact, you and Mac both should. You two are about the same size; you'd be good sparing partners." Ratner smiled.

"Now that's something I'd _love_ to watch." Logan leered at Veronica and winked at Mac.

"Perv." Veronica glared at Logan, and then looked to Mac. "Take me to the coffee, Mac-attack. Let's get away from these two leches."

"If you thought that was bad, Mars, you'd better steel yourself. Our guest is Vinnie," Ratner called out to the retreating the girls, trying not to laugh.

"He has an update already?" Logan asked.

"Apparently. And he insisted on delivering it in person."

* * *

"Okay kids, after several hours spent at The Boobie Trap, I deserve a medal. Why couldn't these people at least hangout at Crazy Horse?"

Logan busted up laughing. "Please tell me you showered and have had all your shots."

"Yuck it up, rich boy. I was there on your dollar."

Logan continued laughing until he saw Mac's confused face. "Strip club. Supposedly haunted. Not the sort of place you want to spend a lot of your time."

"And you know this, how?" Veronica asked, her cute little face drawn in suspicion.

"Terrible bachelor party. The girls looked miserable. Not that most strip clubs are super happy places, but…"

"That one is particularly disconcerting," Veronica interrupted. "It's been under investigation for years for labor and sex trafficking. Strip clubs make particularly good fronts for the trade because you see what you expect to see and the employee turnover rate is very high so no one suspects anything when people leave."

Logan stared at Veronica, completely taken aback. "How do you know…you know what? Never mind," Logan backed off, remembering Veronica's source's real target.

"She knows so much because of her other source; am I right, or am I right?" Vinnie sing-songed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Veronica shot another glare at Logan.

"Whatever, VMars. You don't have to admit it. Saw it myself; the place screamed 'front', as did the lack of enthusiasm when I tipped with twenties. Low rent place like that, Jackson usually gets you attention. Those two bozo agents you outed spent most of last night there—in and out of the manager's office. End of the night they both left angry and empty handed, and you'll never guess where I followed them to."

"Where…?" Logan prompted.

"Here. Well, not _here_ here. But just outside of Napa. Now it could be a total coincidence or…"

"Or they may have followed us up here." Ratner stood and began walking back and forth in front of the fireplace. "I wasn't thinking about concealing us from more than just paparazzi. We're going to have to reconsider our security plan."

"You want my opinion?" Vinnie asked.

"It's what I'm paying you for," Logan said, his irritation quickly moving to anger. Veronica's hand appeared on his leg and she smiled softly up at him. Logan felt his anger recede a little. He leaned forward, kissed her on the lips, then the cheek and whispered, 'Thank you' in her ear.

"Here it is. Blondie's other source…let it go, Mars. I know you have one, gotta be government something."

It was Logan's turn to calm Veronica. He wrapped an arm across her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"As I was saying," Vinnie continued. "Your other source must be looking into human trafficking, maybe drugs, too. But that wasn't in your article. So there must not be enough evidence, yet."

Veronica remained perfectly still next to Logan. From what she had shared with them the previous night, that was exactly what had happened.

"I'm pretty sure these two guys, Donald and Daniel Lamb, ATF and ICE respectively, are at the very least, aware of what's going on in the back rooms at the Boobie Trap. So here is the question you really need to ask yourselves: who turned you onto the Lambs? Your mob source or your government source? Oh, and one other thing, did your government source know you were going to be outing the Lambs, or just the mob people?"

Veronica nodded. "Thank you, Vinnie." She turned to Logan and leaned in, "I have a few phone calls to make. I'll be back in a few minutes." She kissed him, and Logan watched her head out of the room.

"I got something else for ya. My source at the PD said they're questioning D'Amato about the video. He viewed it without permission, or something along those lines. I don't have the full picture yet, but what do you think? I know that wouldn't really fit with our current theory but he knew Veronica from before, right?" Vinnie asked.

"Yeah, she knows him. And he has motive, but I still can't picture it. I don't think he would expose Veronica like that." Logan pictured Leo's angry face when he had stormed away from their home a few days before. "No, he was mad but I really don't think he'd do that."

"Okay, well it's something to think about." Vinnie stood up. "I'm going to keep an eye on our two idiots…that is, if you want me to keep going?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah, if they did follow us here, I want to know. I'll have more money sent this afternoon."

Vinnie saluted. "Thanks, kid." He turned to Ratner. "I'll be in touch."

Vinnie walked out of the living room, leaving Logan with Mac and Ratner. It was time to deal with the next disaster. The previous night, Veronica had convinced Logan that he should give Mac at least some warning before Dick's imminent arrival, but it was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Hey, Mac, could you go check on Veronica?" Logan asked.

Mac arched an eyebrow skeptically. "Sure. Anything in particular you want me to check on?"

"Um…no, just her you know…well her." Logan fumbled; Mac smiled sweetly and nodded her head. Logan felt like even more of an asshole. Once she was out of the room and the door shut behind her, Logan turned to Ratner. "I did something really stupid."

* * *

Mac knocked firmly on the door to Veronica and Logan's bungalow and stood back. Moments later, the door swung open revealing Veronica, still on the phone, and the bed covered in papers. Mac waited, listening to the one-sided conversation.

"I don't care, Tom. This is not at all what we discussed. You're putting people I love in danger." Veronica sounded frantic, and she paced while listening to the voice on the other end.

"You know what? Fuck you. I don't give a shit about your case."

"Of course I care about those girls!"

Veronica sighed heavily. "I just don't know anymore."

"Well, a little warning might have been nice."

"Yes, yes, we have security."

"Bodyguards? No."

"That would just confirm what we're trying to deny."

"Okay, we'll talk again tomorrow." Veronica snapped shut an older model flip phone; not the phone Mac had seen Jeff give her earlier.

"Sorry, Mac. That was…well, you know who that was." Veronica threw herself into a chair in the sitting area of the large suite.

Mac was at a loss. There were so many things she wanted to ask about, but she was pretty sure she didn't want the answers. Instead she decided to go with the simplest thing she could thing of. "Logan asked me to 'check' on you." Mac held up quote fingers.

Veronica laughed, "Oh I'll just bet he did. He's in big trouble, too. I can't decide if I should throw him to the wolves to distract you all from how stupid I've been or if I should jump on the grenade."

"What are you talking about? What grenade?" Mac felt her stomach flip, explosion euphuisms and metaphors always made her queasy.

"Dammit, I did it again. Can I just have my foot surgically attached to my mouth?" Veronica huffed. "You know what? Fuck it!"

Mac stared at her friend, surprised at her lack of decorum. Veronica was usually so controlled and levelheaded. She almost didn't recognize the person in front of her.

"Mac, Logan did something unbelievably stupid."

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad. Logan's a great guy. I'm sure you can forgive him for making a stupid decision." Mac held up her index finger. "Unless he cheated on you. If he did that I'll help you destroy him." Mac grinned and rubbed her hands together maniacally.

"NO! No. Logan is a one-woman kind of guy. He um…well he…so you know how he and Dick, from your high school…well, they're still pretty close."

"Yeah. I know that Veronica. What does that have to do with me?" Mac asked, becoming frustrated with the lack of explanation in the conversation.

Veronica stood abruptly and then bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet; if Mac didn't know better, she'd think Veronica was about to sprint out of the room.

"Dick is on his way here." Veronica blurted out and cringed.

Mac stared at Veronica, who appeared to be shielding herself. "What do you mean, 'here'?"

" _Here_ –here. Like, Dick invited himself to stay with us here, at Meadowood, in one of the extra rooms."

"You have got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

* * *

"You have got to be one of the stupidest people I have ever met," Jeff sighed.

"You think I don't know that? I just–well, I thought it might be good. For both of them." Logan tugged at his hair.

"How do you like it when people make decisions for you, Moneybags?"

"Not so much. Unless it's Veronica. Any chance there's any of the shellfish still in the kitchen?" Ratner shook his head. "Damn Veronica and her attention to detail. The only way I'm getting out of here alive is if there is an ambulance waiting to take me to the hospital for anaphylactic shock. Mac is going to kill me."

Jeff's mouth opened to respond when Mac's voice thundered through the open window, "FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

"I guess that means Veronica decided to tell her." Logan threw himself onto the couch, defeated.

"Well, the good news is I don't think Mackie would punch Veronica. By the time she gets–"

"Logan Fucking Echolls! Did you invite Dick Casablancas here?" Mac stormed through the door, Veronica in her wake.

"No, I didn't invite him here…he kind of invited himself," Logan answered with a bleak smile.

"Why, Logan? You know how I feel." Logan took in Mac's trembling form and stood.

"I'm so sorry, Mac. I–well, I just thought that maybe…" Logan trailed off.

"Mac, he thought that maybe the two of you could have a breakthrough like you and Logan did. Do you understand?" Veronica asked, her arms wrapped around Mac.

Logan watched them, amazed at how Veronica could offer so much comfort and support while under the gun herself.

"I understand, but I'm so mad at you, Logan. This should have been _my_ choice. You can't make these decisions for me!"

"I really am sorry. You and Ra-Jeff should get out; you're not nearly as recognizable without Veronica and I. Go have fun, on my dad." He tried to smile. "By the time you're back, I'll have Dick comfortably settled and you'll be ready to deal with him. And by deal, I mean I expect you to be a little—or a lot—drunk. And then we can deal with _this_ together. I won't leave you to do this alone. But Mac, he's…Dick's still so broken. I want to help. Maybe it could help all of us." Logan shrugged.

"Damn you, Echolls. You are so lucky that Veronica loves you and I love her. Hell, I'm even starting to care about _you_ ," Mac mumbled before stomping out of the room.

"Um…Logan, someplace calming and beautiful?" Ratner asked.

"Mumm, it's just up the road, champagne…well, sparkling wine. I'll call so they're expecting you."

Ratner nodded and left the room.

"That could have been worse," Veronica said as her arms wrapped around his torso.

"Could have gone better, too." Logan grasped her hands and pressed them to him tighter.

"Eh…I don't think so, no. I think that was about as good as it was going to get." Logan felt Veronica press a kiss to his shoulder. "Come on, Baby Cakes, I think you promised me lots of naked time before Jeff interrupted us."

"You made a call?" Logan asked, concerned.

"Later. Right now all I want is you. And maybe a really big lunch. But first, you." She moved around to face Logan, her expression thoughtful. "On second thought, let's order that lunch first, and we can have some fun while we wait for it to arrive." Veronica smiled.

"You've got yourself a deal, Bobcat."

* * *

Jeff took a tentative sip of his champagne and watched Mac apprehensively. She'd been very quiet since the blowout with Logan. And while Mac wasn't prone to unnecessary conversation, even this was a bit much for her. Her gaze was intent on the view, row after row of vines, golden hills on the far side of the valley, and a gentle breeze ruffling her hair. Jeff felt his mouth go dry; she was so beautiful.

It was funny; in the time since he'd started seeing Mac, they had taken it fairly slow. Getting to know each other and building a friendship as well as a physical connection. But when he compared it to Logan and Veronica, who seemed to be moving at light speed and was emotionally and physically intense, what he and Mac had seemed almost casual. Which was not what he ultimately wanted. Foolishly, he'd thought this getaway might be a good opportunity to talk to her about the future.

Mac turned away from the view and met Jeff's eyes. "You're thinking too hard."

"Professional hazard." He smiled, happy that she was returning to the moment.

"I may be putting some of that training to use later. Any chance you would consider working as a hit man? I have two marks." Mac scowled.

"Sorry, Mac, I've always been more of an intelligence gatherer and go-between sort of guy. But I'm sure we could find someone." He winked, hoping she really was kidding.

Mac snapped her fingers in faux disappointment, her expression shifted from playful to defeated, "I'm not sure I can do it."

Jeff reached for her hands. "Talk to me, maybe I can help." He knew there were things she hadn't shared with him, and he had mostly respected her privacy. He'd probed Logan a few times to see if he'd let slip any details, but Logan was more tight-lipped than some of the spooks Jeff used to work with.

"I dated Dick's little brother—Cassidy—he killed people. None of us knew. It was terrible. I recently found out some more about the night Cassidy was caught. Logan was there." She took a shaky breath.

Jeff moved his chair to be closer to her, hoping to offer comfort. "Logan thinks it could help you all to talk about it," he offered.

"Dick isn't like Logan." Mac shook her head.

"Are you sure? You didn't think Logan was worth much before you gave him a chance."

Mac turned sharp eyes on Jeff. _There she is_ , he smiled.

"You really think I should talk to him?" she asked, very seriously.

"I think you should do whatever you're comfortable with. I don't know what went on between all of you. But I do know that since you and Logan talked that last time you both seem better around each other. And if this Dick guy is an ass…well, I'll take care of it."

Mac leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Jeff reached up and stroked her cheek. "More champagne?"

"Sparkling wine," she smirked, "and yes, then lunch?"

Jeff nodded, tucking some hair behind her ear. Maybe they'd get to have that talk after all.

* * *

Logan collapsed back into the pillows, exhausted. "Bobcat, you've killed me."

"It's only 2:00 p.m., Logan. I believe it was your idea to have naked time followed by more naked time," Veronica said, still catching her breath.

"I stand by my idea, we just need more fuel." Logan rolled out of the bed and stumbled over to the phone. He picked up a room service menu and glanced at it before remembering that the kitchen had been restocked. "Come on, love, let's go see what we can throw together," he said, picking up Veronica on slightly shaky legs and heading for the door.

"Logan! Someone could see us!" Veronica giggled as he made a break for the shared living space across a short stretch of deck.

"No one's looking. Anyway, it's the middle of the afternoon, everyone's out wine tasting." Logan kissed her on the tip of the nose and set her down at the entrance to the kitchen. "Okay, let's see what we have." He glanced around the kitchen and checked the refrigerator making a mental list of things they could make.

He turned to give a few options to Veronica but found himself completely distracted by her leaning against the doorframe, naked and taking a bite of an apple. "You look like sin." He grinned and moved into her personal space, wrapped an arm around her waist as he took a bite of the apple.

"Careful, wouldn't want you to get expelled from paradise."

"As long as I'm with you, I don't care." Logan pulled Veronica closer and started kissing his way down her neck, his hunger the last thing on his mind.

"Hello! Dude, where you at?" A familiar voice yelled out as a door shut loudly.

Logan dropped his head to Veronica's shoulder and sighed. C _ock blocks, all of them_ , he thought. Then he realized that Veronica had tensed up.

"Logan," she hissed, "we're naked!"

"Crap. Dick, can you give us a minute? Maybe go back out to your car and we'll meet you in like five minutes?" Logan called out.

"No can do man, I came in a limo. Got everything I need." Dick's voice was getting closer.

"Dick, hold on," Logan turned to Veronica. "Um…stay here, and I'll go grab a blanket and keep Dick out in the living room." Veronica nodded, her face bright red.

Logan took a deep breath and stepped out into the living room. "Hey man, you caught us at kind of an awkward moment." Embarrassment about nudity wasn't real high on Logan's list, and it wasn't like Dick hadn't seen the show before.

"Whoa, man! Guess I should have called first. You got your special lady friend hiding back there?" Dick leaned out to try to catch a glimpse.

"Yes." Logan grabbed a throw off the couch and wrapped it around his waist. "Now, let me show you your room and then we can all meet back in here in like ten minutes."

"Spoil sport," Dick pouted as Logan grabbed a second throw and quickly walked to back to Veronica. Logan gave her a quick kiss.

"See you in just a minute."

Logan got Dick situated in the bungalow on the opposite side of the house and met Veronica in their room. She was already in the shower, and as much as Logan wanted to join her, he decided that she might not appreciate it at the moment. He pulled on jeans and a t-shirt and then headed back to the living room.

* * *

Veronica dashed from the kitchen straight to her and Logan's room, relieved not to encounter anyone on her way. _That's what I get for trying to be more open about Logan's mild exhibitionism._

Try as she might, she couldn't summon more than basic embarrassment. She decided that a shower would put a little more time between now and when she'd have to actually face Dick. And maybe Logan would have had a chance to explain about Mac before Veronica joined them. She frowned; that was not a conversation she was looking forward to.

Veronica turned on the shower and got in once the water was the right temperature. She went through the motions and continued to think about the cluster-fuck that was going to be taking place in the lovely living area of their hideaway. She was sure that Logan could handle it, but Veronica was also certain that she and Jeff should probably not be a part of it. _Maybe it would be a good time for Jeff and I to discuss what happened this morning?_

* * *

Logan's stomach rumbled, reminding him why he and Veronica had been in the kitchen to begin with. He headed back in to start putting together something to eat. There was a package of fresh raviolis, pesto, marinated artichoke hearts and little cherry tomatoes. He put on a pot of salted water to boil and opened a bottle of sauvignon blanc that claimed to be bright and lemony. If tempers were going to be high, they might as well enjoy a light meal.

Logan poured himself a glass and continued the little bit of prep necessary. He'd just finished halving the tomatoes when his cell phone started ringing. He hastily wiped off his hands and saw that it was Jake calling.

"Hey, Jake," Logan answered happily.

" _Logan. Deidra said you all got in yesterday and were settled in. She might have mentioned another guest joining your party. Is Dick there with you now?"_ Jake asked.

"Yeah, he was a last minute addition." _And hopefully a good one_ , Logan thought, a little nervous about the upcoming confrontation.

" _That's great. I know you two don't see as much of each other as you'd like. It's a shame Duncan isn't around. I know he'd like to see you both_." Jake's voice had turned melancholy.

Years earlier, Logan and Jake's son had been close, but things had never been the same between them since Lilly's death. Logan mourned the loss of the friendship, but he'd had so many other things to mourn that losing Duncan's friendship hadn't been a priority.

"Maybe next time he's in California," Logan replied noncommittally. Duncan spent most of his time on the East Coast and in Europe for Kane Software.

" _Maybe. Anyway, I actually called to invite you all up for dinner_."

Logan looked at the pot of water that was just starting to pre-boil, "What time? We got kind of a late start so we're just now having lunch."

" _That works great, let's say eight then? I can grill some steaks and open up a nice cab, or I've got a couple of bottles of Solari that should be perfect. Are your friends wine drinkers?"_ There was a little hesitance in Jake's voice.

"You know Dick and I are. Veronica's palette is really good, and I'm honestly not sure about the two friends we brought. They've both enjoyed the things Veronica and I have had with them. Oh! I almost forgot—one of our friends is a vegetarian. Will that be okay?" Logan asked, glad he'd remembered. The last thing he needed was to screw up another thing with Mac today.

" _No problem at all. I have some great Portobellos here if you think that would work? And I'll make sure the sides are all vegetarian_."

"Thanks, Jake. I'd better go and check on Dick; he hasn't made any noise in a few minutes."

" _See you tonight, Logan_."

The water was at a full boil, so Logan turned the heat down a bit, added the ravioli and set the timer. He had five minutes to make sure Dick hadn't gotten into any trouble. _Maybe I'd better finish cooking first…_

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE _YOU_ DOING HERE!?"

 _Too late._

* * *

The sound of yelling drew Veronica out of the bedroom and into the living room. Clearly, Mac and Jeff were back and Logan hadn't warned Dick.

"Calm down, Dick." Veronica heard Logan say.

"Is this some kind of a joke? What is she doing here, Logan?" Dick asked, no longer yelling.

"I'm right here," Mac said defensively.

Veronica hurried into the room and moved to Mac's side. "Mac and I work together."

Dick's eyes widened. "And you must be Veronica. Nice, dude!" Dick held up his hand towards Logan for a high-five.

Veronica was a little offended, but from the look on Logan's face, this was a good sign. Logan slapped Dick's hand. "Right. That's my Ronnie. Veronica Mars, this is my oldest friend, Dick Casablancas. Dick, you know Mac, um…Cindy. And this is Jeff Ratner, her boyfriend, and my and Veronica's friend."

Veronica was happy to see that Dick seemed to have calmed a bit. He held his hand out to Jeff. "Nice to meet you, man. I guess you know the three of us have some history," Dick said awkwardly.

"Yeah, it was mentioned," Jeff smirked.

"Veronica, I started a late lunch for all of us. The pasta should be just about done. Maybe you and Jeff could go get that set up for us to eat out on the deck." Logan leaned in closer to Veronica, "And open more wine." He kissed her on the cheek and turned back to Dick and Mac.

"Come on, Jeff, let's give them a little space." Veronica headed into the kitchen. From the ingredients set out she had a pretty good idea what Logan had planned. The timer dinged, so Veronica quickly plated the ravioli using a slotted spoon so they wouldn't break. She then shredded the tomatoes and artichoke hearts.

Jeff joined her at the counter and drizzled the pesto and lemon juice over each plate, "Do you think this is going to be okay?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Oh yeah, Logan and I have made this before. I think everyone will like it," Veronica replied, checking the plates.

"I didn't mean lunch, though it does look really good. I meant this thing with Dick. Mac has been pretty upset all afternoon; better than this morning, but still not happy."

"I honestly don't know. Confronting bad memories isn't something I'm very good at. In fact, you saw how good at it I am. I moved to avoid, rather than face, one of mine head-on. And what did that get me?" Veronica quirked a brow at Jeff.

"Um…a great friend, a boyfriend I'm pretty sure couldn't live without you, and well, I'm not quite sure what we are, Mars, but I know I'm glad you're part of my life." Jeff's cheeks pinked.

"When you put it like that, it sounds pretty good, huh?" Veronica smiled, _more than good really._

"Yes, it does." Jeff picked up two plates and led the way out to the deck.

* * *

Mac took a deep breath. _You can do this Mackenzie. You've got this_. She felt Logan's hand settle on her shoulder.

"You okay, Mac?" he said softly, while a still fuming Dick, paced the deck.

"I'm fine. I'm more concerned about him. Is he talking to himself?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it. This is part of his process," Logan answered and moved to be in Dick's eye line.

"Dude! A little warning," Dick said petulantly before he continued pacing.

Mac decided that it was now or never. "He didn't tell me either. Well, not until this morning," Mac offered.

Dick whipped around and stared at Mac as if he'd only just noticed her. "But you're still here." He stared at her in confusion.

"Yes, I could have left but I didn't. Don't you want to know why?" Mac did her best to keep her tone even; she had decided to give this a try, and the only way to do that was to not be a total bitch, at least at first.

"Honestly, no. I don't want to see you. I don't want to think about him. I've been doing fine," Dick said, but his words lacked conviction. If what Logan had told her was true, Dick was anything but fine.

"We all thought that, Dick, but I'm telling you, talking to Mac about Cassidy…it's helped. I really think you two should give it a chance," Logan said, leaning gracefully against the railing. Mac hoped that Dick didn't blow a gasket and throw him over; it was a long drop.

"What would I be agreeing to?" Dick asked.

Logan met Mac's eyes, his intent clear. This was her decision. Mac considered Dick. "A conversation. And I think a lot of alcohol. Logan?"

"I can referee if necessary. And we can send Veronica and Jeff out while we work through it. I know they both have some research they'd like to do. How about after dinner with Jake? Until then we can all act like we're old friends and avoid the mines?"

Mac nodded her head. "I think I can do that."

Dick had stopped pacing and was staring out at the view of the trees and the swimming pool below. Mac heard him take a deep breath. "Yeah, okay. Guess it can't make things worse."

Logan stepped closer to Dick, clapped him on the shoulder and leaned in, whispering something Mac couldn't hear. She decided to give them some privacy and headed in to check on Jeff and Veronica.

She didn't have to go far; as she almost bumped right into Jeff as he exited the kitchen.

"Hey, how'd that go?" Jeff asked.

"So far, okay. Dick agreed to stick around and for us all to talk tonight after we have dinner. I guess we're all heading up to Jake Kane's," Mac said, barely able to contain her glee at meeting the software mogul. The sour look on Veronica's face stopped her from gushing further. "Do you not like him, Veronica?"

"I don't know him," she said noncommittally.

"That wasn't an answer. You've met him," Mac pushed.

"I don't know. He kind of rubbed me the wrong way. But I'm sure it was just the circumstances. Anyway, why don't you help Jeff set out the silverware and stuff; Logan wanted me to open more wine," she said, effectively changing the subject.

Mac watched as Veronica disappeared, in the direction of her bedroom bungalow, then turned to Jeff. "What do you know about that?" Mac asked.

"Nothing." Jeff was quiet, then his brow scrunched in the way Mac had learned it did when he was connecting information. "I did a background check on Mars back when she and Moneybags were first together…" Mac raised her eyebrows at him. "Oh, it was totally routine, he found out she was a reporter, and you know how he is about the press. The point is, I remember something from it…" His face scrunched again. "I'd better discuss it with Veronica before I say any more."

Mac smiled, privacy was something they all valued above almost anything else. She took the forks out of Jeff's hand and set them on the table. Then she turned him to face her. "I love it when you're in confidential mode," she said sotto voiced.

"Is that so?" Jeff swallowed.

Mac nodded and took his hand. "This is more of a pasta salad, right? Meant to be eaten cold?"

Jeff nodded.

Mac took his hand and pulled him out of the room. "Good. Veronica can finish setting the table."

* * *

Logan led Dick to the front golf cart. Dick had been fairly quiet throughout their late lunch, even though Mac and Jeff hadn't rejoined them. Logan chuckled to himself, thinking about Jeff and Mac sneaking off. He was really happy for them. They were both so reserved most of the time that it was nice to see them relaxed and enjoying each other's company.

"Hey, man, who you got running the shop? Dick asked, bringing a smile to Logan's face. Dick always took a while to work through things. "I was surprised you were willing to leave it for so long."

"Heather, when she can, and then you remember Silvia, the woman that I bought the place from when she retired?"

"Sure, hot for a grandma."

"Um…right, anyway. She's in town and covering for me. I only had a couple of small orders since we're pretty much past wedding season," Logan explained, trying to put Dick's comment out of his mind. "Um…Dick, I wanted to ask you something," Logan said, steering the golf cart down the narrow service road.

"Shoot."

"So you know what I asked you about Gory Sorokin and Chip Diller?"

"Yeah, I remember. What about them? I haven't talked to either of them in…" Dick got quiet, seeming lost in thought for a few moments. "Must have been the last alumni event. Of course, that was just Chip."

"Has he ever asked about me? Or maybe mentioned Veronica?" Logan asked, checking Ratner, Mac, and Veronica's progress in the cart behind him.

"You? Veronica? No, dude. I don't remember either of them ever mentioning you in more than passing back in our college days. Nothing recent. And why would they ask about Veronica? She didn't go to Hearst—I'd have remembered her."

Logan chuckled. Yes, Dick would have remembered a girl like Veronica, and probably gotten his balls crunched for the effort. "Veronica's way too much woman for you."

"Sassy—she reminds me a little of..." Dick trailed off. "You seem happy man. She treating you right?"

 _Lilly._ The name floated through his mind. Logan smiled, and glanced in the side mirror at Veronica again. Maybe she did remind him a little of Lilly, but only on the most surface of levels. "Very happy. Happier than I think I've ever been."

* * *

Veronica turned her gaze to the moon, which hung clear in the sky. There wasn't nearly as much light pollution here as in the city and she enjoyed taking in the stars and night.

She turned and saw Jeff and Mac enjoying the same view further down the long balcony, their arms wrapped around each other. And then down by the pool, she saw Dick; he, too, seemed to be occupied by the view. _It's a hell of a night for reflection_ , she thought, letting her mind wander back to her earlier conversation with her source. She still hadn't talked to Jeff or Logan about what had come of it, but she knew she would soon, if for no other reason than that they needed Jeff to get some bodyguards here. _Good thing we have that extra bungalow,_ she laughed to herself as she heard the door open softly.

"I'm really glad you all came over tonight. Let's do this again before you all head back to the city." Jake's voice startled Veronica out of her thoughts.

"That sounds great, Jake. Thank you so much for recommending we come up here. I'd forgotten how nice it is, even if Veronica and I can't really leave the resort. At least your place is just around the corner." Logan's comforting voice drifted over to Veronica as she heard him and Jake approaching where she stood on the upper deck.

"This'll all blow over, Logan. Aaron's already got them spinning it."

Logan sighed as his hands landed on Veronica's shoulders, squeezing gently. "Yeah, Aaron's spinning it all right. And spinning me right back where he wants me. I just don't want to have to deal with him anymore."

"I know, Logan. But life doesn't always work that way. And anyway, a little birdy told me you're sitting on the start of a novel that could be a best seller."

"Wow, Casey has such a big mouth." Logan's arms wrapped around Veronica from where he stood behind her. "I don't know about best seller, but hopefully it's the start of something that could make me more financially independent from Aaron."

"Oh, honey, don't be so modest. I think everyone will love Vivian," Veronica teased, turning around to join their conversation. Jake had made her quite uncomfortable during their previous meeting but he'd been nothing but polite this time. She'd been surprised, though in retrospect, it seemed obvious that Jake and Mac had completely hit it off, spending most of the evening discussing some new thing that Kane Software was developing. Veronica had been relieved that Mac and Jake's obvious connection took some of the pressure off of her.

"Vivian?" Jake asked.

"Oh, my heroine's name. She's a tenacious little reporter who's always getting herself into trouble." Logan leaned down and kissed her temple.

"Is that so? I take it Veronica helped to inspire her?"

"Something like that." Logan's tone was playful, but Veronica could feel him tense up. She turned to look up at him again and followed his gaze down to Dick. Just a few minutes before, Dick had been looking up at the sky, but now he was staring down the steep retaining wall where the swimming pool ended. And while she couldn't be certain, it looked like Dick was shaking.

Veronica stood and stepped into Logan, "Is he okay?"

"Um…I'm not sure. I'll be back. You two play nice." Logan placed another gentle kiss on Veronica's temple and headed back inside.

"So, Veronica, I feel like we haven't really gotten to talk this evening. How are you dealing with all of this?" Jake asked.

"I guess all right. I never expected…well, I guess I didn't expect to have to deal with such a personal attack," Veronica answered honestly.

"Being as in the public eye as you and Logan both are requires a certain amount of…detachment."

"Detachment?" Veronica asked confused.

"Maybe desensitization would be a better way to put it. This is probably more than you would normally have to deal with, but Veronica, Logan will always be part of the public eye, whether he wants to be or not. And, well, if you are going to continue to pursue such, let's say, high profile stories, you need to get used to it. Scandal is not going to be a stranger to either of you. And now that Aaron—"

Jake stopped speaking as one of the house staff appeared in the doorway a phone extended, "Mr. Kane, Ms. Ren—"

"Yes, yes. I'll take it in my office." Jake frowned. "Please excuse me, Veronica." Jake turned and headed back into the house, leaving Veronica even more confused about Jake Kane than she already had been.

* * *

Logan walked down the short hall and past the entryway toward Jake's office, which was situated up a small spiral staircase. He hated to go so soon, but Dick wasn't handling things as well as he had hoped. Logan had just stepped up the first stair when he heard Jake's familiar voice.

"It's not like I could say she couldn't come…Yes, I know what the terms of your divorce are—obviously."

Logan heard the sound of pacing steps, as he waited out of sight.

"What do I think?" Jake barked, his laughter bitter. "What do you think I think? She's everything you always described. Though I can't say she particularly reminds me of…" Jake sighed heavily. "You've met Logan. He's growing into a great man."

The pacing had stopped and Logan could just barely hear the sound of a female voice but couldn't make out any of the words.

"Jesus, Lianne! I don't know what you want from me here…Fine, we'll discuss it when I come back for Thanksgiving…I love you, too."

Logan heard what must have been Jake putting down the phone. He slowly backed away from the stair, and as soundlessly as possible, moved away from Jake's office and toward the bathroom located just down the hall.

Once safely behind the door, Logan took a shaky breathe. _What did I just overhear_? Logan thought back to a few years earlier when he'd joined Jake for a ski trip in Aspen and met a woman named Lianne. He'd been pretty sure there was something between her and Jake, but hadn't asked. Celeste wasn't exactly the warm and cuddly type, and while Logan wasn't okay with it, he also knew it wasn't any of his business.

Logan washed his hands and stepped out of the bathroom, heading back to the deck where their party was enjoying port and the warm fall weather. Logan tried, unsuccessfully, to put the strange conversation out of his mind. He struggled with it a bit more until the moment Veronica turned to meet his eyes and smiled brightly. Immediately all thoughts of anything that wasn't Veronica were pushed from his mind. That is, until he remembered why he had been headed to speak with Jake.

"Hey, love, we need to get Dick back. He's…well, I think the time has come for him, Mac and I to sit down," Logan said softly to Veronica.

"Of course." Veronica stood. "I'll go get Mac and Jeff," she said before taking off down the long deck. Logan watched her hips swinging and wished they were heading back for more alone time instead of to referee a Richard Casablancas breakdown.

"You've got it bad, huh?" Jake asked quietly from just behind Logan.

"Is it that obvious?" Logan turned to face Jake and rubbed the back of his neck.

"To someone who had been similarly afflicted, yeah. I fell in love with a woman I didn't think I could ever live without…and then things changed. Unfortunately, I was right—I couldn't live without her," Jake said, melancholy tingeing his words.

"Celeste?" Logan asked, but didn't believe.

"No, Logan. Not Celeste. Someday I have a feeling I'll have to share the whole story, but until then...well, anyway, take good care of her. I made so many mistakes; I have so many regrets, and I don't want that for you. I know Lilly didn't treat you like you deserved…" Jake trailed off and Logan was almost certain he saw a tear trailing down Jake's cheek.

"You know I loved Lilly. But Jake, that was a long time ago, and Veronica…she isn't Lilly. I'm just sad we didn't get to see who Lilly would grow up to be."

"Me too, Son. Me too." Jake cleared his throat, "I almost forgot. Before you leave town, there's a fundraiser for some cause or other at the winery I'm part owner of; I'd love it if you all came. There's a silent auction, and a dinner. They'll be opening some really nice bottles."

"Oh, that's nice, but you know we can't really be seen in public," Logan said sadly.

"While that would normally be true, this is going to be a very private event. No press and lots of security. I have an extra table, and I'm sure you and Dick could make a nice contribution. Then you could all get out and have a little fun."

 _A little night out might be just what we need._

* * *

A/N: There it is the long awaited chapter 5! Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments and supportive messages. This one ended up being pretty pivotal as far as some down the line things go. I need to give thanks to my wonderful betas Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha - you're both awesome and this chapter wouldn't have been possible without all your help while I worked through my writers block and plotting issues. And more thanks also needs to go to Irma66 - Jake Kane just wouldn't cooperate and her insights really helped me to workout how he fits into this mess of a world I've created. So thank you to all of you!

Notes about places and things mentioned: Mumm Napa is real - you've probably even seen their California sparkling wine in the grocery store. It's nice and if you find yourself in the Napa Valley it is definitely worth a visit, the view really is lovely. And I mention a wine—Solari—it is not something you can just buy but again if you find yourself in the Napa Valley head up north to Calistoga and check out Larkmead (appointment required) the place is lovely, the wine is truly top tier, and if you're lucky they'll let you sample Solari (you have to be a member to purchase it). Check out their website and don't let the pretentiousness get to you the wine makes it worth it :)


	6. Chapter 6

Logan led the way into the living room. The staff had turned on the gas fireplace and set Logan's requests out on the dinning room table: a fifth of tequila, lime wedges, and a small bowl of course salt. Also known as the big guns.

Back in high school, Dick and Logan had spent more than a few nights partaking of the _one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor_ adage. But for tonight Logan hoped his plan might help them all relax…and maybe spark some bonding. The three of them were an unlikely trio, but one of the few times they had all been together had involved this particular game. It was either going to help—or make things much worse.

Logan turned to take in Dick and Mac's expressions. Mac looked nostalgic and Dick looked nervous. _Better than angry._

Logan approached the table and poured three shots. He held his up. "I would like to make a toast to mending fences and building bridges."

Dick and Mac followed Logan's lead and accepted the shot glasses, each throwing theirs back.

"What do you expect, dude?" Dick asked.

"I expect nothing—"

"Ensuring you will not be disappointed," Mac said, holding out her glass for a refill.

"Precisely," Logan agreed.

"You've gotten weird, Logan." Dick looked confused and held out his glass for a refill as well.

"You say weird…I'm going to go with wise," Logan smirked, hoping to dispel some of the lingering tension. "Look, Dick, I think we all need to say a few things and then maybe this will get easier," Logan said, filling his own glass.

"I'll start," Mac offered.

Several more shots later—sipped rather than chugged—Mac had shared her account of what happened the night Cassidy was arrested. Logan watched Dick throughout most of the telling, and based on Dick's demeanor, he had gone from obstinate, to unsure, to devastated.

"I'm so sorry, Mac. I didn't know. He was… _is_ not right. I see him sometimes, you know?" Dick said.

"You do?" Logan asked, taken completely by surprise.

"Yeah. I treat him like I treat religion. I go for Christmas and Easter. Our dad's, well…you know, not allowed on US soil. And Betina," he sneered. "She pretends he doesn't exist. So I go twice a year. I tried to go more often but…it wasn't good. He'd get upset. He used to ask me about appealing his sentence, but he hasn't mentioned it much the last year or so," Dick said, casting his eyes to the floor. "I have control of all the money, so if he wanted to do something he'd have to go through me." Dick looked as if someone had a kicked his puppy. "The things he did…the people he hurt—killed—I told him I wouldn't pay for an appeal. I told him that if he wanted to get a public defender and go that route, he could." Dick laughed mirthlessly. "You wanna know something funny?"

Considering their current topic of discussion, Logan wasn't so sure he did want to know anything funny, but Mac was nodding so Logan did as well.

"You can't just get a public defender. You have to qualify for one, and since we have money, he couldn't get one. It was the best news I've ever gotten. How fucked up am I that I was relieved—no happy—when I found out my little brother couldn't appeal his sentence?"

There were no words; Logan was at a complete loss as to what to say.

"No brother should ever have to feel that way, Dick. But he didn't leave you any choice. How long is his sentence?" Mac asked, rescuing Logan who was still stuck in his tongue-tied state.

"Um…until he's deemed no longer a danger to those around him. So, forever if I had to guess."

* * *

"Veronica, while they have their—what is sure to be an emotionally traumatic slumber party—I thought maybe you and I could talk about something."

"Did you have a specific _something_ in mind?" Veronica asked. She put her arm through Jeff's as they slowly walked down the path away from the lodge.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah. I have something specific in mind."

Veronica spotted a lookout a bit ahead with a small fountain and bench. She presumed it was situated that way as a private spot for a romantic rendezvous, but it was also perfect for a private conversation. She led Jeff in that direction. "Spit it out, Jeff. You're making me nervous."

Jeff waited until they were seated on the bench to speak. "You know I ran a background check on you when you and Logan where first seeing each other," he stated.

Veronica thought back to the handful of rather uncomfortable conversations that had been necessary to convince Logan she wasn't a tabloid reporter trying to sell his story. "Sure. Oddly enough, that was one of the high points of that particular week, if you can believe it," she snorted.

"Sadly, I can. So when I did that check, information came back about your parents."

Veronica stared at Jeff, hoping he would continue but he didn't; he just stared back at her. Veronica let out a frustrated sigh. "Jeff, I think we've been through enough together at this point that you can just say whatever it is you need to say. I've never seen you so reticent. I'm not a porcelain doll. I promise that I'm fully equipped to handle it. Trust me."

"Fine. You're right. You mentioned before that Jake had 'rubbed you the wrong way'…that you didn't know him. Are you sure you don't know him, Veronica?" Jeff asked.

Veronica leaned back against the railings of the bench and stared up at the stars. "The first time I met him I thought he looked familiar. He said he would have remembered meeting me when I asked."

"So he didn't actually say you hadn't met?"

"No, he didn't. The way he was looking at me tonight….it makes me very uncomfortable, and he _is_ familiar…" she trailed off and sat up, turning her gaze back to Jeff. "Why?"

"When I did your background check, Jake came up, so I did a little more digging. It turns out that he dated your mother in high school; they were prom king and queen, actually. He also owns the house that she currently lives in. Does that mean anything to you?"

Veronica felt her heart skip a beat and constrict. Lianne. "I haven't spoken to my mother in years."

"Veronica, she's employed by Kane Software. Did you know she was living in Logan's hometown?"

"No." She pulled in an uneven breath. "No, I did not. Honestly, I try to think about her as little as possible. I…" she stood and paced around the fountain. "Jeff, please don't mention this to anyone else. I need to talk to my dad, and he and I aren't exactly seeing eye-to-eye at the moment."

"Of course. Are you going to tell Logan?"

"Yes, as soon as I figure out how to phrase it. Somehow 'Hey babe, by the way…it seems that the man you think of as a surrogate father is somehow connected to my estranged mother', seems a little shocking." She sat back on the bench and leaned heavily on her elbows. "To tell you the truth, I don't really talk about her much. Her _departure_ from my life was…well, colorful. Maybe you could do a little more digging first? I'd like to have the full picture."

"You know I'll look in to anything you want me to. I just…Logan isn't good with secrets. Or maybe he's too good with them. You're going to tell him?"

Veronica laughed; Jeff was cute when he was nervous. She realized she'd just caught a glimmer of the Jeff that Mac had described. "Yes, Jeff. I'm not much of a sharer—as you know—but with Logan, I share with him. I'm still kicking myself for not telling him everything about my article. His mind is devious in ways I hadn't given him credit for. I think if I'd been more upfront with him I could have saved us all some grief," she said, exhaustion hitting her.

"He surprises me sometimes. He's not just another rich pretty-boy asshole. Though he _is_ all of those things, too." Jeff smirked. "Did you want to talk about your conversation with your source this morning? Mac mentioned that you sounded pretty unhappy with him."

Veronica sat back down on the bench. "Unhappy doesn't even begin to cover it. That asshole used me. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I accused him of caring more about his case than the safety of my loved ones and he didn't even deny it." Veronica hung her head. "He doesn't care. His advice was more security. Speaking of which, is there any chance you can bring in Samson and maybe another guy? We've got the extra bungalow, and I don't want to risk any of you. God! I can't believe I got myself into this. I was so stupid. Katherine—Yelena—totally fooled me, and then my super spy secret agent-man did too. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this kind of investigative journalism," she said, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"Veronica, I'm going to tell you a story. Let's call it a fairy tale. This young guy—totally green—fresh off The Farm, gets sent out into the field. He has a simple job: get a source to tell him a location."

Veronica nodded; Jeff wasn't really the sharing type either. "By 'Farm' I take it you don't mean where you milked Bessy and shucked peas."

"No, Veronica, not that kind of farm. So I meet the source and gain his trust, and eventually I get the information I was supposed to get. But the source's employer…well, they suspected they had a leak. When our operatives showed up at the location they were ambushed."

Veronica gasped. "Were they…did they?"

"They made it out. Got lucky. But my source wasn't so lucky. They killed him as soon as we showed up at the fake location. My point here is that sometimes circumstances are out of our control. Sometimes our actions have unintended consequences. But we learn as much from our failures as from our successes. I failed my very first op and I learned that intel isn't just information. It's lives. Your article got two corrupt government agents out of circulation along with a whole group of lower level criminals. Your source is an ass with an agenda. Guess what? They all have their own agendas. The trick is to not let _theirs_ take away from _yours_."

Veronica sat and absorbed what Jeff had said. "You know, I think that's the most I've ever heard you say." She laughed, actually feeling a little better.

"I prefer to be the strong silent type," he teased. "Look, let's take a walk around the pool and tennis courts—give them some more time—and then head back to the house. We can make sure everyone is still alive and I can get things set up for more security to be here in the morning. Sound good?"

"Yeah, Jeff. That sounds really good."

* * *

The conversation had been stalled for several minutes. Logan could feel the weight of what they'd shared. Finding out that Dick had been visiting Cassidy…it hurt Logan that Dick didn't feel like he could share that with him. Logan decided that if there were ever a time to ask, it was now.

"Dude, why didn't you tell me about you seeing Cass? I would have helped," Logan said.

Dick stared at him, his face a little slack from the alcohol, and frowned. "Cass almost killed you. No fucking way was I going to put you through dealing with him. You've dealt with enough," Dick said, shaking his head.

Logan reached out and clasped Dick's shoulder. "Doesn't matter. I would have been there for you. And, anyways, he only sort of threatened me." Logan noticed that Mac had gotten up and walked out to the deck during their exchange.

"I'm feeling less than great about how I treated Ghostworld," Dick said in a whisper.

"Don't call her that, man. And trust me, you aren't alone in that. But I've learned a lot about Mac recently. She's a cool chick and she's pretty forgiving. You don't have to become BFFs, but she has some good memories with Cassidy, too. Maybe she's someone you can talk to about him?" Logan suggested, hoping Dick would seriously consider it.

"I dunno, dude. Why would she want to talk to me? So much of what happened with Cass is my fault."

"There's only one way to find out. And don't take all the blame; no one person could cause…well, _that._ I played my part in it...and then there's your dad. He encouraged us to be mean to Cassidy. And he and Betina were so self-absorbed that they didn't realize their child was being abused by his coach. It was their job to see the signs. That's on them…and Woody. It's not on you. You were just a kid too, remember."

Dick nodded and stood up. Logan watched him walk out to the deck and stand next to Mac. He couldn't hear them, but he really hoped that maybe Dick and Mac could find a way to be friends or at least find comfort in this moment of commonality. They both needed someone to talk with about Cassidy, and maybe they could fill that need with each other.

Logan leaned back against the fireplace and rested his head on the cool stone. A few moments later he heard the front door open and then Veronica and Jeff appeared. Veronica kneeled down next to him.

"You're all still in one piece, I see. How's it going?" she asked, placing a gentle kiss on his temple.

"Better than I could have hoped. Did you have a nice walk? You were gone longer than I thought you would be."

"It was nice," Jeff answered. "I'm going to go make some phone calls. Will you let Mac know I'm in our room? I don't want to interrupt them."

"Sure thing. Come on, Veronica, I want to go to bed," Logan nuzzled his face into her neck, breathing in her scent and the contented calm that accompanied it. He stood and extended his hand to Veronica, leading them quietly past Mac and Dick to their bungalow.

* * *

Mac felt the sting of tears in her eyes as she gazed out over the resort. She'd come out here to allow Dick and Logan their moment of privacy and also to gather her thoughts. For the first time Mac wondered if there was more to Dick Casablancas than she had realized. Everything he'd shared had surprised her. She had always assumed that Dick—and Logan for that matter—hadn't thought more about Cassidy after the events of their senior year. But recent weeks, and then tonight, had shown how wrong that supposition had been.

From inside, Mac could hear rustling, and then a large presence took up residence a few feet away from her, staring out at the night.

"I'm really sorry, Mac."

"Thank you, Dick. It's nice to hear. I always thought you knew—that you didn't care," Mac said softly.

"I'm an asshole, but I do care. Cass is all the family I have left…our parents…" The words hung in the air.

 _Parents…seems to be a common issue for all of us,_ Mac thought. Even as she acknowledged that she loved her parents, she still had a hollow place inside of her that wanted to know her birth parents. A part of her mourned the loss of that connection.

"You know, I lived at the Neptune Grand that whole summer after Cassidy almost jumped. Almost killed Logan. Hurt you."

"He only hurt my pride, Dick. He never hurt me physically," Mac said, trying to reassure him; it wasn't entirely true of course. Cassidy leaving her in the room like that had hurt physically—emotionally, too—but Cassidy had never, himself, hurt her. It was an important distinction to her, and she, despite some of her less positive views on Dick, didn't want him carry around that kind of guilt.

"There are a lot of different types of hurt, Mac." Dick pointed at the pool well below them. "I hate swimming pools now. I only swim in the ocean."

"Pools? Why?" As far as she knew nothing that Cassidy had done had involved pools.

"I went up to the roof. That summer. I spent a lot of time up there contemplating life. You know, how I hadn't noticed something was wrong, and why I did the things I did…Anyway, there is this one spot where if you jumped, you'd land in the pool. It's like…whatever, so many stories up, not like anyone could survive even a fall into a pool from that height. But I'd sit up there wondering if that's where he would have jumped if Logan hadn't convinced him not to."

Mac didn't know what to say, so she just nodded and stood with Dick, staring at the swimming pool below and remembering a sweet boy who was a killer.

* * *

Logan woke up to little hairs tickling his nose and just the hint of a headache. He shifted and found that he was wound tightly around Veronica with his face buried in her neck. She was soft and warm in his arms. He'd wanted this for so long…someone who got him and understood some of the darker places in his mind and didn't run away.

Of course, Logan knew Veronica had her own set of dark places…and that Piz was only one of her demons. From early on in their relationship, he could tell that something had happened to her. She had eventually confided in him that she had been assaulted…raped. The word echoed through his mind. It hadn't been Piz, but beyond that, Logan knew nothing. It hadn't escaped his notice that after several months she still hadn't brought the demons of her past up to him, beyond that admission. But Logan understood secrets and denial. Sometimes one or both were necessary for self-preservation. It didn't stop him from hoping that someday she'd feel safe enough to share the entirety of her past with him. He wanted to help her deal with it.

Veronica stretched against his chest and hugged him tightly to her. "Good morning." Her voice was still deep with sleep.

"Good morning," he replied and pressed a chaste kiss just below her ear. "Looks like I turned you into my human body pillow. I hope I didn't crush you too much," he said, rolling so that she rested on his chest rather than the reverse they'd just been in.

"Not at all. I like how it feels when you hold me like that. It feels…hmm…like nothing bad could ever happen. You know what I mean?" Her question was punctuated by a series of soft kisses to his chest.

Logan moaned low in his throat. "I definitely do. You make me feel the same way," he said, smoothing back her hair and then tilting her chin so he could see her face. "I love you."

The smile that broke across her face shook all of the left over sadness from the previous night and his earlier thoughts away. "I love you too." She pushed up and met Logan's lips for a deep kiss.

Logan pulled away the little clothing they both had on and moved so they were lying face-to-face. He let his fingers trace their way down her body, little pink flushes appearing along his path. When he reached her knee, he lifted it to rest on top of his legs and moved so he could rub his cock against her. It was a little bit of an awkward position, but Logan wanted to hold her close without being on top of her. She may have liked it for sleeping, but he could still sense her hesitation anytime they dabbled with positions where he was on top of her.

"Please, Logan." Her voice was soft but urgent.

"For you, anything." He kissed her deeply and pushed into her.

* * *

 **Vivian strode down the sidewalk. All determination and kick-ass boots. No one was going to mess with her. She pushed her way into the precinct, her target easier to find than she'd hoped.** _ **Guess I don't have to lie my way up to the floor with the detectives.**_

" **Detective—**

"Dude are you seriously going to sit there on your computer all afternoon?" Dick asked in a distinctly whiney tone of voice.

Logan sighed in frustration. "I was going to, Dick."

"What could be more important that spending time with your oldest friend?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all." Logan snapped his laptop shut and adjusted the chair he was sitting in to face Dick head-on.

"Well, now you're all pissy." Dick's lower lip pouted out.

It took all of Logan's strength not to snap at Dick again. It would be fine. Vivian wasn't going anywhere, and he had gotten his vision of her written. Sometimes Veronica would do something and it would set off a whole scene in his head. Today it had been the way she'd taken charge of her and Mac needing dresses for the fundraiser. The longer they were together, the more of Veronica's determined and confident side he got to see. Investigator mode, as he liked to think of it, though it was coming out more and more in their personal life too. He loved it.

"Logan? Dude, you just went from looking pissy to all dreamy. What's the deal?"

"Just thinking about Veronica," Logan said, getting up from his chair. "You're right, Dick. I can write whenever. Let's catch up. What's happening in your life?" he asked, pouring them each a tumbler of scotch.

* * *

Logan intertwined his and Veronica's fingers. He wanted to wrap his arm around her waist, let his fingers trail across her bare back, feel her skin heat and flush with his touch…but there would be plenty of time for that later. In fact, if his memory served, this winery had a private little cellar they might be able to sneak off to.

"What are you thinking, Logan? You just got that look that says you're going to get us in trouble," Veronica whispered in his ear.

Logan stopped walking and used their clasped hands to twirl Veronica around so she was facing him. "When have I ever gotten you into trouble? Besides, this," he gestured to his face, "is my 'I'd rather be worshipping your body' face. My 'get us in trouble' face is completely different." He kissed her nose, and spun her back around to continue their progress down the stone path. "It's like you don't know me at all," he teased playfully.

"Worship, huh? We'll see…"

Logan swallowed. "Can't wait."

"God, you two are so obvious. If you disappear tonight we'll know where you are, and trust me, we won't be looking for you," Mac said from behind them, her tone suggesting more amusement than actual disgust with them.

"Speak for yourself. I just might go looking," Dick said, moving to walk next to Logan and leaning to leer at Veronica.

"Not if you want to retain your manhood…Dick," Veronica said. Logan loved when she got feisty; it reminded him of when she had tased Piz.

"I love you," Logan said into Veronica's ear, ignoring Dick.

"Me too."

* * *

Leo drove the rental car he had picked up at a moderate pace. He didn't want to risk alerting Diller that he had a tail, so he took his time. It was one of the few things he was actually good at…being a cop. He clearly wasn't good at anything in his personal life. Showing up at Veronica's new house—where she lived with her new boyfriend—had been an unmitigated disaster. And if the tongue-lashing he'd gotten from Alicia was any indicator, Leo had been so off point that he couldn't even begin to reconcile his actions with the reality that Alicia had dumped over his head.

Veronica was in love. And it wasn't with him. He felt tears prick his eyes again. It felt like he'd loved her for years but her words and _Logan's_ — _God, I hate that asshole!_ Leo had to slam on the breaks to avoid running the red light in front of him.

"Shit!" He watched as Diller's civvie car moved off ahead. "Deep breath, D'Amato. One light cycle is fine."

After that he tried to stay focused but his thoughts kept straying to every stupid mistake he'd made in the past week. _Proposing…watching that damned video…what was I thinking?_ He'd gotten a very unhappy call from Keith Mars, who had clearly heard that Leo was being accused of leaking the video. It seemed that Keith believed him, but he was pretty sure his invitation to Thanksgiving dinner was going to get lost in the mail.

He caught back up to Diller's car just in time to see him pull into a parking garage by the docks. Cautiously, Leo followed, still maintaining some distance but making sure not to lose Diller. After parking he didn't have to do much. It turned out that Diller was meeting someone in the garage. Leo kept to the shadows, took up a spot behind a support column and waited.

" _I don't see why we couldn't do this over the phone,"_ Diller whined in his nasally voice.

" _Because you are not as clever as you think you are. You're being monitored by your superiors,"_ an accented voice replied.

" _Seriously!"_ Leo could hear footsteps. He assumed Diller must be pacing.

" _Yes. But there are more important matters. The Sheep tried to…I believe the term is 'shake down' my man at the club. They are being followed by a private investigator, and I believe they are about to do something very foolish."_

" _What does that have to do with me?"_ Diller's question was followed by the sound of flesh against flesh. _"What the fuck, man?"_

" _You must learn to check yourself or you will find that life can be much less pleasant. Now get in the car. We are not done."_

Leo waited until he was certain that there wasn't any more of the conversation he would be able to eavesdrop on and then carefully made his way back to his car. He knew two things now. First, Diller was a dirty cop. And second, there was a problem with the two federal agents Veronica has exposed in her article. The Lambs.

His resources in San Francisco might be limited, but he had an idea. Leo climbed into his car and came face-to-face with a stranger.

"You're an even bigger idiot than I thought. Start the car. We have a lot to discuss."

* * *

Veronica took another sip of her wine. It really was very good. Bold and fruit forward but with a finish that left her wanting more. She was also pleasantly surprised to find that the other guests were more approachable and normal than she'd expected. She had especially enjoyed her conversation with a professional photographer and his husband who lived in Washington State but frequently came to the Bay Area. They'd exchanged contact information, and Veronica was hoping that maybe while she and Logan were in Portland for Thanksgiving they could visit the couple and check out their studio.

The party was being held in the large garden courtyard of the winery and a lot of waiters were circulating with food and drinks, but what Veronica was really enjoying was the view. They were on the valley floor surrounded on both sides by rolling California hills, and the entire space between seemed to be filled with row after row of vines with the occasional nut tree and a few somewhat out of place palm trees. It was beautiful.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Veronica?" Jake Kane's voice startled her out of her reverie. Her abrupt turn sent wine flying out of her glass, splattering on Jake's shoes.

"Shit! Um…I mean, I'm sorry. You surprised me. Let me got get something—"

"Don't worry about it. They're just shoes," he said with a smile that looked genuine, but Veronica wasn't willing to take that at face value.

"If you're sure." He nodded. "Okay, to answer your question, I'm having a very nice time. This is a lovely place, and the wine is excellent," Veronica said.

"I'm glad you think so. I've been a silent partner here for…oh, I think just under ten years."

Veronica considered that for a moment. Ten years was when her mother had left. And if Jeff was correct, not just left but left to be with the man standing next to her. "Was there a special reason?"

"You could say that. I like to think of it as a mark of a new chapter of my life."

"That's funny. It marked a new chapter in my life, too." Veronica looked up into his face, still soft and almost dreamy with a memory. "The chapter where my mother abandoned my father and I when we needed her most. And haven't heard from her since."

Jake's serene expression disappeared. "Veronica…I can explain."

"Explain what?" Logan asked, his arm coming around Veronica. She let herself lean into him, taking the strength and comfort he was always there to offer.

"It's complicated, Logan. Um…maybe we can all talk about it some other time." Jake took a step back.

"Not so complicated actually. Logan, did you know that Jake and my mother were Neptune High's prom king and queen in 1979?"

"Go Pirates," Logan cheered weakly, before the words registered and his mouth dropped open. Veronica felt his fingers flex on her waist. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"Yeah. Jake wasn't being very honest with us when I asked if we'd met before." She turned her attention back to Jake. "Though I suppose maybe you and I haven't. Or have we?"

"This is neither the time nor the place," Jake said, his voice low and angry.

"You're the one who brought it up."

"Whoa. Okay. Let's all take a second here. Veronica, maybe we should go talk about this just you and I?" Logan asked, his thumb firmly rubbing against Veronica's spine, relaxing the tense muscles. Getting away from Jake sounded like a very good idea and she did owe Logan an explanation; she'd meant to tell him earlier, but they'd been so busy getting ready for the stupid fundraiser.

"Yeah. Let's go. But Jake—I have more questions. You are not anywhere near off the hook," she called over her shoulder as Logan led her away.

* * *

Logan held on to Veronica's hand firmly. His mind was a mass of questions and confusion. _Jake knows Veronica's mother? Veronica knows that he knows?_ Logan started walking faster, needing to put distance between himself and the words.

"Logan! Slow down. I'm in heels." Veronica's upset voice penetrated that miasma of conflict in Logan's head. He turned and looked at her shoes. Tiny blood red toenails peeked out of dangerous looking shoes. They made Veronica's already shapely legs look killer, but clearly hindered her movement. Logan felt a smile creep across his face; he bent down, scooped up Veronica, and then resumed his previous pace, hoping his destination was still as he remembered it.

Veronica let out a little squeal and then settled her head into the crook of Logan's neck. He could feel her warm breath, and then her arms wrapped around his neck more tightly. "Where are we going?" she spoke softly against his skin.

"Somewhere private," Logan said, pushing open the door to the house that served as tasting rooms and offices. They were currently empty since everyone was outside enjoying the party. On the far side of the first floor was a large sunroom with a great view, which, thanks to heavy plantation blinds, was currently hidden. That also meant they were completely hidden from the partygoers. Logan pushed into the room and moved to a large wicker sofa with deep cushions. "I've been dying to peel this dress off you for hours."

"Logan!" Veronica protested as he settled them onto the sofa with Veronica straddling his lap. "Didn't you want to talk about what just happened?" she asked as he attacked her neck.

An overwhelming need filled Logan. "After," he said between kisses. Since Veronica had come into his life, the feelings of loss and loneliness had all but disappeared. But the knowledge that one of the few people he had always trusted had lied to him was overwhelming. It was as though the gaping hole that had been a permanent fixture in his existence since the loss of his mother and Lilly had opened back up at the betrayal. He seized the woman in front of him—his lifeline—and anchored himself to her. He needed her like he needed air. "Right now I need to be inside of you," he gasped.

Logan smoothed his hands up Veronica's thighs and cupped her ass, drawing her closer to him. His hands wandered under the tight skirt of her dress until he felt her, hot and wet. "You're not wearing anything under this dress," he groaned, nipping her collarbone.

"Not a thing. I thought it might come in handy…" she gasped as Logan circled her clit with his thumb and entered her slowly with one finger. He sat up and watched her face as he pumped slowly into her; she was a beautiful sight. And she was his. "I need you too, Logan."

Logan slowed and took in Veronica's dilated eyes and flushed skin. There was concern there too, and a softness he'd really come to value. He'd never had anyone look at him the way she did. "How do you do that?" he asked kissing her gently.

"The same way you do for me." She wiggled in his lap and her small hands reached between them. Logan watched with a smile as she unbuckled his belt and pushed his suit pants and boxers down. She wrapped her hand around him and stroked him slowly. Logan moved his hand away from her center and grabbed her hips, pulling her closer. She lifted up and let out a breathy sigh as she came down on his erection, taking him into her.

The urgency and empty hunger Logan had felt when he rushed them away from the party was replaced with longing and happiness. Being with Veronica made all of the insecurity and pain recede. He rolled her hips against him, making them both gasp in pleasure. Veronica continued the rocking motion while Logan used his hold on her hips to slide her up and down his length. He could feel her body start to tremble and flipped them. Logan let himself get caught up in the sensations as he moved within her in deep strokes, her wavy hair mussed, eyes dark and heavy. Every little sigh and moan fueled his desire for her.

Veronica's hand reached out for him, and she sat up to meet him in a kiss. She pulled Logan further on top of her and shifted her hips. She came with a low groan, and her husky, "I love you, Logan," sent him over the edge with her.

He let his body drape over hers while they both took deep breaths. Logan pressed a kiss to Veronica's forehead and then realized their positions and pushed off of her quickly.

"Shit, I'm sorry, Veronica," he said, moving her into a sitting position.

"Mmm…for what? That was great," she sighed with a slightly dazed expression on her face. Logan stared at her for a long time, waiting for her discomfort and displeasure at how he had manhandled her.

"I dragged you in here and fucked you without making sure that was okay. And then…I just got caught up, I didn't mean to…" Logan dropped his face into his hands. _So stupid. Never should have done that._

Veronica's laugh brought Logan back to the present. "Logan, I'm fine. And I purposefully didn't wear any lingerie under this dress so we could do exactly what we just did." She kneeled on the couch next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You've never lost control like that with me. It was…exciting. I was so mad about…" she trailed off.

Logan nodded; he knew she was mad at him. "I shouldn't have grabbed you like that. I'm really sorry."

She laughed again, though it was less joyful than previously. "I'm not mad at _you_ , ya big goof. I'm mad at _Jake_. He lied to us. But angry sex…that was kind of hot." She kissed him on the temple.

"It really was. I still didn't mean to flip you over like that. I know it makes you uncomfortable." Accepting that she wasn't upset, Logan wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her dress down to cover the rest of her ass in the process.

"Sometimes. It's getting…" she looked thoughtful and a little uncertain, "umm…easier? We've never talked about that, and I don't want to right now, but soon, I think."

"You can tell me anything. But for right now, how about we straighten up, go say our goodbyes, and get out of here. We do need to talk about what happened with Jake, and I don't think this is the best venue for that discussion." Logan rubbed his hand along her spine.

"Agreed. We'll need to include Jeff as well," she said, standing up and righting the rest of her dress. Logan stood as well and made himself presentable.

"Ready?" he asked, holding the door open for her to walk ahead of him.

"Yep." Veronica stepped through the door and it looked like she stumbled and disappeared.

"Veronica?" Logan stepped through the door and an arm wrapped around his neck. He bucked and turned, trying to dislodge the arm from his neck but his vision was darkening. He saw Veronica being carried out the door. As he reached in her direction, the world went black.

* * *

A/N: For those who don't know what 'The Farm' that Ratner mention is, it's a CIA training facility. If you want to see the inspiration for the winery that Jake Kane is a part owner of check out Larkmead Vineyards Winery. And if you ever get the chance to go there I highly recommend it.

The final chapter will go up in the next week. It's fully written and I'm just doing final edits.

Huge thanks to Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha! Seriously, I went through so many drafts of this and the next chapter and you both helped me through that painful process. This story would not have gotten finished without them!


	7. Chapter 7

Mac walked over to one of the buffet tables. The fundraiser itself was fairly dull but she'd been pleasantly surprised by the wide range of vegetarian and vegan friendly food options. She was debating which to go for, the daikon patties or the socca cakes, when Dick bumped into her.

"Hey, Mackie. This stuff's pretty good, right?"

"Yeah. The wine too." She smiled and tried to think of something else to say. Like Logan had toasted to the previous night, she and Dick may have mended— _built?_ —some bridges, but that didn't mean they were friends. Or that they really even knew each other. She cycled through all the topics she felt comfortable with and came up wanting. She quickly stuffed a shitaki nori roll in her mouth to hide her inability to make small talk.

"Dude, chill. We don't have to make awkward chitchat. In fact, where's Logan? He's super good at filling silences." Dick didn't look perturbed in the least, and that helped Mac relax more than anything else.

She laughed and nodded her head. "Yeah, you've got that right. Has he shown you any of his Vivian stuff?"

"Vivian? They have an open relationship? Sweet!"

"No, Dick! His book…the main character's name is Vivian. I guess that answers my question." _Definitely time to find Logan…_

"Huh. No, he hasn't mentioned it. He picked a name a lot like Ronnie's."

Mac snorted. Veronica was just going to _love_ that. "You might want to refrain from calling her that to her face, Dick."

"Whatever, Ghostworld. I'm all about the nicknames. Love 'em or hate 'em. Actually, I think I prefer when people hate 'em." He laughed and turned in a small circle. "Well, wadda ya know? Logan and his lady have—" he held up quote fingers "—'mysteriously' disappeared. Bow chicka bow wow."

Mac's patience was nearing its end, and she was relieved when she saw Jeff approaching at a clipped pace. "Mac, Dick, when was the last time you saw Veronica and Logan?"

* * *

 _What kind of place has no goddamned takeout?_ Vinnie Van Lowe scrolled through his Google search. _I'm so charging Richie Rich for this._ He let his finger hover over the 'call' link for _La Tra Vigne: Pizzaria,_ trying to decide if a quick run into the downtown to pick up a pizza would be a problem.

His finger made contact with his phone just as a large black SUV with limo-tinted windows pulled up to the gate of the estate he'd tracked the Lambs to earlier that day.

"Hello!" Vinnie grasped his binoculars and brought them to his eyes, discarding his cell phone. He followed the SUV up the drive. It parked and three burly-looking men clamored out hauling two limp bodies: a small blonde woman and a large dark-haired man.

"Fuck me sideways!"

* * *

Veronica woke with a shiver. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to make sense of her situation. At first all she could see were dark shapes, but slowly her vision adjusted and she was able to discern Logan's slack face just inches away from hers. Panic surged through her until she heard him take a deep breath. _Alive_. It was all that mattered. They were alive. _Now to sort out this mess_.

A careful stretch of her muscles revealed that she was not tied up, but was lying on a very cold stone floor. Veronica sat up and looked around. In the dim light she could see that every available surface was covered with wine racks and at the center of the room was a large wooden table.

Next to her Logan started to stir and rub at his neck. He sat up. "Veronica!"

"It's okay. I'm right here." She brushed her hand across his cheek. He leaned into her touch and turned his head to kiss her palm.

"What do you know?" he asked. She loved that about him. Right to the point. No 'are you okay?'.

"Not much. We're in a wine cellar. Maybe in a basement," she said, pointing to the stone and crossbeam ceiling.

Logan nodded, still rubbing at his neck.

"Does your neck hurt?"

"Doesn't yours?"

Veronica turned her head experimentally and didn't notice any pain; she touched her skin and found it to be only a little tender. "No, not really."

"They choked us out. I saw them carrying you, but I couldn't get to you."

Veronica scooted closer and then climbed into his lap. "Hey, it's okay. We'll figure it out."

* * *

Leo pulled onto the Bayshore Freeway heading back toward downtown San Francisco. Glancing periodically at his passenger. Finally, he'd had enough of the silence. "Look, buddy, I don't know who you are, but you need to get the fuck out of my car. I'm a Portland PD detective and people know where I am," Leo said, hoping he sounded confident.

The man reached into his pocket and Leo realized what a fool he was; his firearm was in the glove box.

"I'm law enforcement too. Cruz, Tom Cruz." An FBI badge flashed in Leo's face. "Now drive, D'Amato. I don't have much time, and unfortunately, we have quite a bit to talk about. Starting with what the hell you were thinking getting buddy-buddy with Chip Diller."

"Diller? Why do you care about him?" Leo asked, shifting the car into reverse.

Leo heard an audible sigh. "For the same reason you do. He's dirty. Head inland."

Leo nodded and made the turn out of the parking garage. "I'm pretty sure he set me up with that video. But what does that matter to the feds?" Leo was completely confused.

"Did you not read your little girlfriend's article? Sorry, ex-girlfriend."

"No. She writes about politics and I don't really like that stuff," Leo said.

"You really are useless. Well, we've got a bit of a drive ahead of us. I was hoping for a nap, but…I guess I can be nice and connect the dots for you." Tom reclined his seat a bit. "So I looked into you. You're a pretty even-keeled guy. Decent cop. No signs of illegal activity—ever. And then, out of nowhere, you steal police evidence. And not just any evidence, evidence associated with a case you have a very personal connection with. That sound about right?"

"Um…well, yeah. I didn't steal or copy those tapes. I don't even know what I was thinking watching them in the first place…"

"Me neither. Take the exit for the Bay Bridge. So you go with Diller, and he lets you watch the tapes. While you're bawling your eyes out over your lost love, he's making copies…or maybe he already had. I'm not sure. Either way, you're the perfect cover for him. You should have heard how happy he was when you—"

"Hold on! You knew he had those tapes of Veronica and you let him…you didn't warn her?" Leo turned to glare at Cruz.

Cruz shrugged. "It better served my end to let it go. I needed to actually catch him doing something illegal. And my wiretap on him…not exactly sanctioned." His hand waffled through the air.

Leo wanted to punch this guy in the face. He may be angry with Veronica over what had happened between them, but he hated that this had happened to her. "You are such an asshole. I'm turning around—"

"No, you're not. We're headed to see Veronica. There's about to be a big break in this whole thing, and against my better judgment, I need someone who's not associated with me to handle this. Someone with a vested interest. And you, my derpy detective, fit the bill."

* * *

"Well at least they had the courtesy to keep us in a wine cellar in the Napa Valley. Look at some of these bottles!" Logan said, turning to show her a bottle of 1982 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild Pauillac. "Do you see a bottle opener?"

Veronica sighed in exasperation. "No, I don't see a bottle opener."

After waking up in the cellar, Logan had gone from freaking out to a little manic and Veronica had no clue what to do about it. At this point a glass of wine sounded better than watching him continue to bounce around the room. It only took a few minutes before Logan managed to find an Ah-So opener tucked into one of the shelves.

"Won't make much of a weapon, but at least we can open a bottle," he said with a grin.

The discovery of the opener inspired Veronica to look around and see if she could find something larger or sharper, but a cursory examination didn't reveal anything of use beyond the furniture and wine bottles. Though, she was pleased to realize, that if held like you would hold keys in self-defense, the Ah-So might prove a better weapon than she'd originally thought.

"Wish they'd bring us an anti-pasto plate or something. I guess we'll have to settle for getting drunk with a $4000 bottle of wine." Logan smiled and poured out two glasses. "We should let that breathe." His voice had gone husky and his eyes seemed to linger over Veronica's body.

"You have got to be kidding me. We're being held hostage and you're horny? We had sex right before we were taken, in case you forgot."

"What? You look hot and my adrenaline is pumping. But don't worry, Bobcat, I have no intention of doing anything about it. When they come back in here I don't want us to be caught with our pants down." He laughed and moved closer, running his hands up and down her sides, sending little tingles of pleasure across her skin. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek.

"Too bad, really," Veronica sighed. "Though, maybe drinking wine isn't the best idea either then?"

"Probably not. But whoever has us can't be too smart. We weren't tied up and they left us with a bunch of potential weapons, if you consider how heavy a wine bottle is. What do you think they want?"

Heavy footsteps landed outside the door and the sound of a key in the lock caught their attention.

"Guess we're about to find out. I say we request that anti-pasto first. You now, really hold out," Logan said as the door swung open to reveal Don and Dan Lamb.

* * *

Logan leaned back against the table and watched as the Lambs went round and round for what seemed like hours. The opposite of criminal masterminds, all these guys did was manage to get each other increasingly worked up with every passing moment.

"You've gotta tell the Sorokin's we didn't narc on 'em!" Don yelled in Veronica's face.

Much to Logan's surprise, she laughed right back into his. "You idiot! Who do you think told me you two were corrupt? Yelena Sukarenko."

The angry expressions dropped off both men's faces. "But we work for them."

Logan waited for one of them to get it. He turned to look at Veronica, who shrugged in reply.

"But…why would they do that?" Dan asked.

Don collapsed into one of the large chairs. "Go see the wizard, little brother, and ask him for a clue. They're mad we asked for a bigger cut."

Logan choked back a laugh; of course these two imbeciles would ask the fucking Russian mob for a bigger cut and then be surprised that they were getting cut out entirely.

Don jumped up and grabbed his brother's arm. "We have phone calls to make. You two just stay put and stop drinking the wine!"

"What about our food request?" Logan called as the door slammed shut; he was fairly certain he heard a muffled 'fuck off' in response.

"Okay, Bobcat. We've got some time to kill while they do whatever it is they're going to do. What say you fill me in on what's going on between you and Jake." Logan took a deep breath and tried to present himself in as relaxed a manner as possible. He really wanted her to open up, and so far in their relationship they'd done fairly well with communicating. He didn't want to let this go for too long.

Her eyes met his and she gave him a determined nod. "So, I thought Jake was acting weird toward me, but I tried to push it out of my mind. I convinced myself that I must have just been reading something out of nothing," Veronica said, pausing to take a drink of the wine. "This really is very good."

Logan nodded his agreement. "It is very good. I didn't notice Jake acting weird around you." Logan thought back to the two times Jake had interacted with Veronica and he couldn't recall anything out of the ordinary. _Who are you kidding, Echolls? You were so excited about Veronica getting to meet someone else important to you that you might not have noticed if the whole Pirates Marching Band paraded through._

"Jeff told me about the prom thing last night. Jake owns the house my mom lives in too."

"You can't be serious!" Logan abandoned his lean and dropped into the closest chair. He couldn't believe this was happening. It was only supposed to be a few more months and he would be free of all the bad things left over from his childhood. But now one of the few people he'd trusted—cared for—was part of what had made Veronica's teen years so dark. The anger Logan had worked so hard to keep under control wanted to fill him, but he wasn't that lost teenager anymore. And he had someone who loved him and she needed him to keep it together. "God, Veronica." He took a deep breath and reached for her hand. "What're we going to do?"

"I'm just not sure. I asked Jeff to look into it some more." Veronica's hand gentled through his hair and she climbed into his lap. "I don't think we're going to get any real answers until I talk to my dad."

"Well, what a coinkydink. We'll be there in…" He tapped a watch that wasn't on his wrist, "five days. If we get out of here, that is."

"He and I are barely speaking as it is." Her little body deflated in his arms and she nuzzled his neck. "We never talk about my mom."

Logan held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. "It's going to be all right. Right now let's worry about one thing at a time."

* * *

"I don't care. Get here now," Jeff said into the phone. His voice had the edge that Mac had come to recognize as his 'I'm furious, and you're about to get it' voice.

Dick tapped Mac's shoulder. "What's going on? Why would someone take them?"

Mac took a deep breath and wished that Logan had explained to Dick what was going on. "Veronica pissed off some scary people. We're not entirely sure what's going on—"

"Mac!" Jeff's voice had her turning around yet again. She headed over to join him, now that he was off the phone. "That was Vinnie, and we may just be in luck. You'll never guess who showed up at the house he was watching the Lambs at."

"Well, do I have to tip you over or are you going to spill it on your own?"

"Two people had to be carried into the house. A small blonde female and a tall brunette male…sound familiar?"

"Shit! Well, where are they?"

* * *

Veronica released her hold on Logan and stood up, deciding to inspect the room more closely than she had before. It was your typical über rich wine cellar, containing what appeared to be more than a thousand bottles.

"So, Vivian, how do we get out of this mess?" Logan asked.

"Well, we know the Lambs aren't very smart. I mean, look at this room. There are quite a few things we could use as weapons, from the wine bottles themselves to the chairs." She indicated the chair Logan was currently occupying as well as half a dozen more around the large wooden table. "In fact, I bet we could use the table and chairs to barricade ourselves in here if we need to. They're eventually going to figure out that we're of little use to them."

"Speak for yourself, babe, I could be worth a fair bit of ransom. If for no other reason, Daddy would pay it for the media attention. Jake too; for both of us apparently, though for different reasons."

Veronica nodded. They knew their kidnappers, but surely someone at the fundraiser had seen them being taken, so she assumed the identity of their abductors wasn't a secret. "Killing us won't accomplish anything, so ransom seems like the best option if the Lambs are hoping to get out of the country. Both the Echolls and the Kanes could easily arrange that."

"Indubitably, my dear Watson."

"No way! You're the writer, and I'm the investigator. I _so_ get to be Sherlock!"

Logan stood, wrapping his arms around Veronica, spinning them in a little circle, and kissing her on the nose. "Only if you promise to let me get you one of those hats."

Veronica couldn't help giggling at his antics and reached up to kiss him, letting herself get lost in the safety and warmth of Logan's arms. Logan gently set her back down and brushed some stray hair out of her face.

He was gazing down at her softly when his eyes widened unexpectedly. "You know, at Jake's the wine cellar has a 'secret' passageway that leads out to the pool."

"Really? Do you think that's a common thing?" Veronica asked.

"I'm not sure. The previous owner was really into spy novels and thought it would be fun. I know if I had the chance to put in a secret passageway I would totally do it. Want to check and see if there's anything like that in here?"

Veronica hopped in place, her excitement at having a task propelling her forward.

They both began walking in opposite directions around the rectangular room, carefully inspecting each alcove. One alcove was just a wet bar, another had more glasses, and finally Veronica came to one that was a combination of books and what appeared to be the filing system for the wine. She was checking out some of the books when she noticed that the texture of one of them felt wrong. _You've got to be kidding me_.

"Logan, come here. I found a cliché."

She waited for Logan to join her in the little alcove before she pulled the fake book forward. There was a loud click and the bookcase pulled away from the wall like a door.

"Holy shit! This is the coolest thing ever!" Logan said, pushing in front of Veronica and entering the dark room, which lit up after a few seconds. "Found the light switch," Logan said proudly, smiling broadly at her.

It was a smallish room with more books, a flat screen TV, club chairs and a beautiful wall-mounted humidor. Logan opened the humidor and was admiring the large collection of cigars. Veronica checked the walls and ceiling, but she didn't notice any special ventilation and yet the room didn't reek of smoke.

She continued looking around the room and discovered why: there was yet another door disguised as a bookcase. It swung open and led out to a small private patio with a little fountain. _Yahtzee_.

Logan disappeared back into the cellar and returned moments later with two bottles of the same wine they'd had earlier. He reached into the humidor and shoved several cigars into his jacket pocket. Veronica stared at him, confounded by his behavior. "Are you kidding me?"

Logan's arms wrapped around her waist and he kissed her neck. "What? They're Cuban. Come on, Bobcat, let's blow this popsicle stand."

* * *

Leo watched the flurry of action taking place around him. Shortly after he and Cruz had arrived at the property where Logan and Veronica were being held, Cruz had called in a task force. Now Leo was part of a fairly large group of law enforcement agents working together to recover the couple. To say that Leo was upset after Cruz had finally admitted that Veronica had been abducted would be an understatement.

His unhappiness at the situation was tempered only slightly now that there was a whole team of people preparing to breach the house if the two rogue agents, Don and Dan Lamb, didn't turn themselves over.

"Leo, right?" a nondescript man, with slightly curly hair asked as he approached.

"Um…yeah. That's me."

"Jeff Ratner." A hand appeared in front of Leo. "I'm a friend of Veronica and Logan's. You seem a bit nervous."

"What? No, of course not. I've got this whole thing under control." It was the line Cruz had insisted Leo give. But despite being presented as being in charge, Leo had no idea what was going on and he was terrified that Veronica was going to end up hurt.

Ratner leaned in and said in a low voice, "I know Cruz is running the show. Don't worry; I won't say anything. I just wanted to offer you some reassurance. The breaching team knows what they're doing, and Logan and Veronica…well, they can be pretty wily."

"Veronica? No, wily is not a word I would use to describe her."

"You seem like a nice enough guy, some less-than-intelligent decision making aside, so I'm going to give you a little advice. Do as you're told. Stay out of the way. And this is all going to turn out just fine." Ratner patted Leo on the shoulder and walked away, his head shaking as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

* * *

Logan held Veronica's hand tightly and peeked around the corner of the house. The stucco wall scraped his cheek as he looked to see if they could make it around to the side of the house. He thought they should make a run for it. It was now clear that they were being held in one of the many hillside mansions that dotted the valley landscape. They weren't far from where they'd been taken from, but unless Logan could secure some transportation or find a phone, it was going to be a long walk back. Though Ratner was sure to be hot on their trail, assuming there was a trail to follow. Logan looked down at the bottle of wine clasped in the hand that wasn't holding Veronica's, suddenly wishing he'd picked a cheaper bottle as a weapon in case he actually had to use it against the Lambs.

"I don't see anyone or any cameras. But that doesn't mean there aren't any," he said in a low whisper.

Veronica leaned past him and then back. "I say we go for it."

"On three?" Veronica nodded. "One…Two…Three—"

A loud crash came from the front of the house followed by a booming voice: "We will breach if you do not come out with your hands up!"

"Holy shit, I guess the Calvary finally arrived."

"So what should we do? Head out front and wave?" Veronica asked, looking back the way they'd just come.

"Um…I guess? They can't negotiate like we're hostages if we're already out."

"I'm a little disappointed…now the FBI is going to take all the credit for our rescue." Veronica pouted out her lower lip.

Logan ducked down and grabbed it with his teeth, giving her lip a gentle tug, and then kissed her. "I'll put it in my next book. Make sure you get the credit for finding our way out of there."

She smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. "Lead the way. And I guess maybe we should put our hands up so we don't get shot."

Logan adjusted the wine bottles in his coat pockets so they wouldn't tip out. "Good thinking, Bobcat! And don't get lost in the crowd. I've still got plans for you tonight."

* * *

Veronica dropped onto the small fainting couch in her and Logan's bungalow, letting the late morning light warm her. It was the first bit of privacy she'd had since they rescued themselves from their kidnappers. Hours of talking to the police had left her weary and more than a little annoyed. And now Logan was stuck on public relations duty, helping his father's publicist draft a statement that would 'preserve the Echolls brand'. Veronica snorted at the ridiculousness of it all.

But, despite all the frustration, she also had an almost overwhelming feeling of gratitude. If one had to be kidnapped, being held by incompetent assailants in a well-stocked wine cellar with hidden passages was certainly the way to do it. There was no denying that they'd gotten lucky; it could have been so much worse.

The reality of how bad it could have been had her reevaluating some of the decisions she's been making lately. She'd been naïve to trust a source without better confirmation of their motives. And she should have thought twice before getting involved with Agent Cruz. Finally, and arguably most importantly, there was the issue of not sharing what she'd been doing with Logan. The latter was a mistake she knew that she couldn't afford to make again, especially in light of the latest revelations about her mother. She was going to need Logan by her side to get through the coming weeks. If she wanted to be there for him, for better or worse, she knew that they'd have to face head-on whatever was going on between Jake Kane and her mother. On top of all that, there was the prospect of more upcoming drama with his father and hers. _Nothing's ever easy…_

Veronica's phone began to vibrate from where it lay on the dresser. She stretched and made her way over to it, not really planning to answer but wanting the option.

'Katherine' it said. She stared at the phone waiting for the call to go to voicemail, and finally for the voice message alert she knew would come.

" _Veronica, I need you to know that I never intended for you to be hurt in the way you have. My family…what they have done…the Lambs. I want you to know that if there is ever a way I can make any of what has happened up to you, you need only ask. Take care, Veronica Mars."_

* * *

Logan sat back in his chair. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, setting shadows across the deck while still filtering light through the trees, highlighting random spots across his line of sight. A full day had passed since their kidnapping, which seemed more of a weird dream now than anything else. The Lambs had surrendered in record time after finding out that Logan and Veronica were gone. And Leo had been there and was somehow in charge.

A cloud moved off and the light caught in Veronica's hair, creating the illusion of a halo. Logan smiled at the sight of her, cheeks pink from the wine. He reached out and took her hand, smoothing his thumb across her knuckles as she continued to discuss the real estate and housing market with Dick and Ratner. Mac was curled in Ratner's lap, her eyes shut, though the occasional quirk of her lips suggested she was awake.

Veronica squeezed his hand, bringing his gaze back to her. She was acting like everything was fine. Maybe it was, for now. But they'd had two close calls and the upcoming months weren't likely to be easy, if the two hours planning strategy with Parker and Aaron were any indicator.

He watched her lips curl in a smile at something Dick said, hair falling across her cheek. Logan reached out and brushed her wavy hair behind her ear; she leaned into his touch and his heart skipped a beat. The smallest things had that effect these days. He was hopelessly in love with her and there wasn't a thing he would change about it.

"Oh no. I know that look," Dick laughed, startling Logan.

"Hmmm?" Logan asked, looking to his oldest friend, and spotting the familiar smirk.

"That's the patented 'Logan wants his lady' look." Dick continued to laugh and started to stand up. "Come on, Jeff, let's go play a round of golf. If you can wake Mac up she can be our designated cart driver."

Mac stood. "No way am I the designated driver. Can't we get a caddy?" Mac asked, heading into the living room.

Logan was so focused on the woman before him that he only vaguely heard Dick's laughter fading away into the distance. Veronica shook her head when Logan turned back to look at her.

"What?" Logan complained.

"He's right. That's the look you always get before…" Veronica giggled, her cheeks darkening a hue.

Logan shook his head also and felt a smile slowly creep across his face. They had a point. He pulled Veronica's hand up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her fingers, then with a bit more pressure, he urged her out of the chair and to him, settling her in his lap.

"Seriously, Logan? You are so easily distracted." Veronica tickled his sides.

"Only by you." Logan lifted her into his arms and began walking back to their room. He opened the door and flicked the lock one handed, his lips busy on Veronica's neck, enjoying her breathy little moans.

Logan moved to stand in front of a low dresser with a large mirror and then set Veronica down in front of him. He turned her to face the mirror and ran his hands down her arms.

"What do you think you're doing, mister?" she asked, leaning her head back against his chest.

"Seducing you?"

"Was that a question? I'm more of an action girl," Veronica said, meeting his eyes in the mirror. He pulled the t-shirt dress she was wearing over her head, revealing matching white and blue lace lingerie.

Logan used one arm around her waist to pull her into his body, grinding his erection against her firm ass as his other hand moved to her lace covered breast, gently tweaking her peaked nipple through the fabric. "Is that better?" he asked, nipping at her neck, never breaking eye contact.

"Mmhmm, much better."

Logan unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them and his boxers off quickly. "We probably don't have long before someone disturbs us," he whispered into her ear, slipping his fingers under the lace and into her wet folds.

"They can wait," Veronica breathed out on a sigh. "I've had enough of other people."

Logan stroked into her more urgently. Finding her more than ready for him, he gently urged her to brace on the dresser, and quickly removed her lingerie. "Me too, Veronica. Me too," he said, positioning himself at her entrance and slowly pressing into her heat. "Why can't the world just be us?"

"Maybe someday it can be." Veronica brought her hand to his neck, arching, and deepening their connection. "Can you afford a tropical island? We could move far away and never look back." Logan thrust harder at her words. "You and me…No crazy exes…no difficult family…" she panted.

He gripped her hips and moved faster, deeper, his breath coming in harsh gasps. "No kidnappers." Logan held himself back, feeling the flutter of Veronica's approaching orgasm. "I can't yet. But someday…maybe." He stroked up hard and bit down on her neck, her climax making her whole body tremble and taking him with her.

"Someday."

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for sticking with this despite the long wait for these last couple of chapters. Huge (seriously huge) thanks to Bondopoulos and Marshmallowtasha for helping me get through my writers block and plotting issues with this sucker. They were amazing and went through multiple versions of these last few chapters while I struggled to get the characters to cooperate. Thank you ladies!

Now you may we wondering but what about [insert open story line]? Well, the answer is: there is a third part to this series. I have an epilogue to go with this story (Thanksgiving with the Marses) that I will post when part 3 is ready to go.

A/N2: update June 2016 :) I have gotten some really sweet and cute messages from quite a few of you asking when the epilogue and part 3 will be going up, and also where you can pester me about them. As for pestering me I'm over on Tumblr with the same handle feel free to pester away :) I love interacting if you all! And as for when the update will post as for right now I think (my goal at least) is to post the Thanksgiving epilogue around actual Thanksgiving. Sooner of course if I finish but that's the timeline I'm currently working under. Just remember when I do start posting it means I've finished writing part 3 so there won't be big delays like there were for part 2 :) Thank you again to all the new people reading this and everyone re-reading it! Every time it gets a new follower/favorite or new comment it gives me more inspiration for part 3!


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